Madison County Circuit Judge Amy Sholar was selected to serve as a member of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board.
Sholar’s appointment is effective May 2, and her term will expire on May 1, 2027. She was appointed to fill a position formerly held by Will County Circuit Judge Paula Gomora.
The Judicial Inquiry Board is tasked with judicial discipline in Illinois. The board receives, initiates and investigates complaints concerning active Illinois state court judges.
Its members include Chicago lawyer David P. Sterba, Cook County Circuit Judge Kent A. Delgado, Chicago lawyer Sean Nash, Chicago lawyer Jonathan S. Quinn, public member Elaine Johnson, public member Ruby Smith, and public member Megan Applegate.
Sholar was elected circuit judge in November 2022, after defeating a gerrymandered law that immediately split Madison County into judicial subcircuits.
Sholar ran on the Republican ticket and beat Democrat Ebony Huddleston for the vacancy created by former Circuit Judge Richard Tognarelli’s retirement.
Before she was an elected circuit judge, Sholar was appointed circuit judge by the Illinois Supreme Court to fill Tognarelli’s vacancy.
Sholar was a founding partner at Sholar Stephen Law, where she worked since 2016. She focused on matters of domestic litigation. From 2004 to 2016, Scholar worked in private practice at The Law Office of Amy Sholar PC.
Prior to her time in private practice, Sholar served as Planning Coordinator for the City of Alton for three years and was an intern with the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Sholar was also appointed to the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees by former Gov. Bruce Rauner in April 2015. She resigned from that position in December 2020. During her term, she served as Chairperson of the Board from 2018 to 2019.
Sholar earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Illinois University and her Juris Doctor from Saint Louis University School of Law.