The Justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois paid a visit to the Fifth District Appellate Court in Mt. Vernon on March 17th as part of the Riding the Circuit initiative culminating in oral arguments at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale the following day.
Justice David K. Overstreet, a Mt. Vernon native and the current Supreme Court Justice representing the Fifth District, and Fifth District Appellate Court Clerk Cortney Kuntze led a tour for the Supreme Court. Justice Overstreet and Clerk Kuntze provided updates to the Supreme Court on the building and grounds improvements recently made to the Fifth District Appellate Courthouse, and Clerk Kuntze presented information to the Justices regarding local court practices and the challenges that they encounter. The last time the entire Supreme Court visited Mt. Vernon was in 2008 to hear oral arguments at the Appellate Courthouse. None of the current Justices were on the Supreme Court bench at that time.
“My colleagues on the Illinois Supreme Court thoroughly enjoyed their visit and tour of the 5th District Appellate Courthouse and the well-attended local bar association reception at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts,” Justice Overstreet said. “It was a great, personal honor to showcase my hometown. Southern Illinois certainly made an outstanding impression on the Court.” Following the tour of the Appellate Courthouse, the Justices visited the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, a visual and performing arts institution in Mt. Vernon. The Justices were able to spend time with members of the legal profession from southern Illinois to exchange ideas about the judicial branch, and over 100 local attorneys attended the judicial reception at Cedarhurst in the grand corridor.
Original source can be found here.