Judge Lisa Holder White sworn in to Illinois Supreme Court, becomes first Black female justice

Judge Lisa Holder White has officially joined the Illinois Supreme Court as its first Black female justice.

Holder White was sworn in Thursday morning at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfieldin an event that drew a full theater and nearly 200 viewers online. The 54-year-old Holder White was picked by outgoing Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman as her replacement and then approved by the full court in May. That follows Illinois tradition for replacing Supreme Court justices.

The ceremony began with a “special session for the purpose of installation of Lisa Holder White as justice of the Supreme Court,” followed by an invocation of prayer by the Rev. C.D. Stuart of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, where Holder White was born and raised.

In a speech that won a standing ovation, Garman called it a “historic day for the Land of Lincoln” before asking Holder White to step forward to take the oath. Garman removed her robe and placed it around Holder White. The two women embraced, and Holder White was sworn in Justice Mary Jane Theis.

Holder White thanked those who’d given speeches in her honor, and those who supported her throughout her career. She emphasized the historical significance of her swearing-in ceremony taking place in a museum dedicated to Abraham Lincoln: “The man who freed the slaves, my ancestors, is of special significance to me.”

“My heritage is a heritage that once involved minds and bodies that were shackled, and doors that were so long closed,” Holder White said. “You see, taking my oath in this place today goes far beyond a personal professional achievement. As I see it, taking my oath in this place today recognizes the undeniable value and merit of what I, as a Black woman, mother, daughter, sister, wife and jurist have to contribute to the work of our state’s highest court, it is proof positive of the progress of this great nation, and our great state.”

Holder White’s appointment was announced just a month after Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to be the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. Jackson was sworn in last week.

“(Today) is a testimony to the notion that as women and people of color, we need not limit our dreams or settle for less because when we prepare ourselves, doors will open and we will walk through them fully equipped to serve with dignity, to serve with integrity, to serve with humility, and to serve with exceptional intellectual capabilities,” Holder White said.

Following her remarks, Holder White took her place alongside the other six members of the court and the special session was adjourned.

Garman’s retirement caps a historic career on the bench. She is the state’s longest serving judge, having been first appointed as an associate judge in 1974. In 2001, she became the second woman appointed to the state’s highest court and also became the second woman to serve as chief justice. Thursday’s ceremony celebrated Garman’s legacy, which Holder White described as a “crown jewel” in the Illinois judiciary, and the beginning of Holder White’s chapter on the Supreme Court.

“She is a woman of great intellect, common sense, and grace, and she will be missed,” Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Burke said of Garman.

Holder White’s legal career began in Macon County as an assistant state’s attorney, after graduating magna cum laude from Lewis University in 1990 and graduating from the University of Illinois College of Law at Urbana-Champaign in 1993. She worked in private practice for several years before being appointed to an associate judge position in Illinois’ 6th Judicial Circuit.

In 2008, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Holder White to a circuit judge position to fill a retirement vacancy, a position she was later elected to in 2010. In 2013, Holder White was sworn in t as an appellate justice.

Like Garman, Holder White is a Republican, meaning her appointment will maintain the court’s 4-3 Democratic majority. Two seats on the court will be up for election in November.

Before Holder White was sworn in, her husband’s cousin, Vincent Cornelius, recalled the early days of Holder White’s legal career.

“Her husband James just said that she (should) call his cousin Vincent to talk about law school,” said Cornelius, a circuit judge in Will County and the first Black president of the Illinois State Bar Association. “And so she did and he thought I might be a good person to talk to and Lisa from the looks of things they have worked out pretty well.”

He went on to praise Holder White’s legacy and legal record: “Lisa is one of the most balanced people I know and our nation needs leaders and jurists like her who are multifaceted with diverse backgrounds, insights, perspectives, worldviews and voices. And she is indeed a multifaceted person. She is a wife, a mother, a jurist, a leader, a servant and a conciliator.”

“She is more than equal to this moment, more than equal to the task ahead,” Cornelius said.

dgill@chicagotribune.com