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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING CHIEF JUSTICE ANNE BURKE FOR HER LIFE OF SERVICE
WHEREAS, Chief Justice Anne Burke stepped down as an Illinois Supreme Court Justice on October 25, 2022. Chief Justice Burke has served as an Associate Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court since 2006. She was elected to a full 10-year term in 2008 and 2018. She has served as Chief Justice since 2019; and
WHEREAS, as Chief Justice, Burke is credited with leading the Illinois courts through their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She convened a COVID-19 Court Leadership meeting for Supreme Court Justices, Presiding Appellate Court Justices, Chief Circuit Court Judges, Trial Court Administrators, AOIC (Administrative Offices of the Illinois Courts) staff, and other Judicial Branch partners. Through this idea-sharing platform, court partners solved many problems around the state simply by talking to one another and replicating successful ideas offered by their colleagues. To date, 42 of these meetings have been held since the first one on March 13, 2020. Additionally, Chief Justice Burke called for creation of a resource that people could call, text, or email to get court information provided by AOIC staff dedicated to this task. The Illinois Court Help was born in May 2021 and has now answered thousands of questions and provided helpful information for hundreds of court users; and
WHEREAS, two other seismic events occurred during Chief Justice Burke's tenure. The first was the redistricting of the four appellate court districts outside of Cook County. A Task Force was created and identified the logistical issues that needed to be addressed and developed a plan for implementation, including a Supreme Court "pause" order - since lifted - to allow time for the courts to take necessary measures in preparation for this significant change. The second was the passage of the SAFE-T Act that eliminated the use of cash bail in Illinois, along with other changes to the pretrial system. Und...
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