(Chicago) … Illinois Supreme Court
Justice Anne M. Burke today announced her candidacy for a
full term on the state’s highest court.
Burke has served as a Justice of the
Illinois Supreme Court since July 6, 2006, after being
selected by its members to succeed retiring Justice Mary Ann
McMorrow. From 1995 until her appointment, Burke served as
a Justice of the First District Appellate Court. Burke
began her judicial career in 1987 when she became the first
woman appointed as a judge on the Illinois Court of Claims.
“I have enjoyed the privilege of
serving on the Supreme Court and I am hopeful that the
voters will grant me the opportunity to continue that
service,” Burke said. “I can think of no greater public
calling than to work for justice and fairness for the people
of our state.”
Attorney John B. Simon, a partner at
Jenner & Block and former president of the Chicago Bar
Association, will chair Burke’s campaign. Named as
co-chairs are: Northwestern University Law Professor and
former State Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch; former U.S.
Appeals Court Judge and White House Counsel Abner J. Mikva;
former Illinois Appellate Court Justice R. Eugene Pincham;
former Illinois Appellate Court Justice David Cerda; and
senior counsel at Sidley Austin and former Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Newton N. Minow.
“I am pleased and honored that these
respected leaders in the legal community have endorsed my
candidacy and will serve on my steering committee,” Burke
said.
In addition to her 20-year career on
the bench, Anne M. Burke has compiled a record of advocacy
on behalf of children – especially the disabled and abused.
As a young physical education teacher with the Chicago Park
District, she worked in its first program for mentally
disabled children. Out of that experience, she founded the
Chicago Special Olympics in 1968. Later, she served as its
director as it grew to become the International Special
Olympics with branches in more than 160 countries.
Following her graduation from
Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1983, Burke began a
neighborhood law practice that included representing the
interests of children and families in cases involving
neglect, abuse, delinquency and parental custody.
After a series of scandals in which the
state failed to protect abused children, Governor Jim Edgar
appointed Anne Burke to serve as Special Counsel for Child
Welfare Services, where she brought significant reforms in
the Cook County juvenile justice system. These included
better coordination among the various governmental agencies
responsible for protecting children.
For more than two years, Burke served
as Interim Chair of the National Review Board of the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops, investigating the
causes and effects of abuse of children by members of the
clergy. Under her leadership, the Board established
guidelines and policies to respond to the problem. In a
final report, Burke voiced public criticism of the church
hierarchy for its failure to adequately respond to the
crisis.
Prior to joining the Supreme Court,
Burke was appointed by its members to serve on the Illinois
Courts Commission, the Special Commission on the
Administration of Justice and the Board of Admissions to the
Bar. She is a frequent speaker and panelist before many bar
associations.
In addition to her law degree from
Chicago-Kent, Burke received a B.A. in Education from DePaul
University in 1976 and has been awarded a number of honorary
degrees. She has served as president of Special Children’s
Charities and the Caritas Foundation, and as a trustee of
DePaul University, Loyola University, the Chicago Public
Library Foundation, St. Xavier University, Persons with
Disabilities Fund, Chicago Community Trust, River North
Dance Company, Lincoln Park Zoological Society and St. Rose
School for the Mentally Disabled.
Justice Burke is seeking to be elected
from the Supreme Court’s First District, which is comprised
of Cook County. She is the third woman to serve on the
state’s highest court. A Democrat, she will run in the
primary election on February 5, 2008.
