Applications being taken for 15th Circuit associate judge

DIXON – The 15th Judicial Circuit is taking applications for a new associate judge.

As she announced a year ago, Associate Judge Jacquelyn D. Ackert, a Republican, is running Nov. 6 to replace resident Circuit Judge Ronald M. Jacobson, who is retiring Dec. 2.

Ackert, 51, is running unopposed; her last day as associate judge will be Dec. 3. The circuit judges will choose her replacement, who will be based in the Lee County Courthouse.

The 15th Circuit covers Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle and Stephenson counties.

Applications are due Oct. 15. Applicants must be U.S. citizens licensed to practice law in Illinois and residents of the 15th Circuit. Their names will be released after the deadline, so the public can comment on their candidacies, and a bar poll will be requested.

Ackert, appointed in 2004, was an attorney for 25 years, 12 of those practicing civil and criminal law in Dixon. As associate judge, she oversees family, divorce, adoption and felony cases. She also is the presiding Drug Court judge, a position she will retain.

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Southeast Missouri State University and her law degree from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and is a member of the Illinois Judges Association, Illinois Bar Association and the Lee County Bar Association.

She also has volunteered as a coach through several local organizations, including the Dixon YMCA, Al Morrison Baseball League, Dixon Park District and Dixon Catholic sports programs.

A Goreville native, she and her husband, John Ackert, have lived in Dixon 26 years; they have five children.

TO APPLY

Application forms and instructions are available at the Illinois Supreme Court website, www.illinoiscourts.gov.

They are due Oct. 15, by 11:59 p.m. if filing electronically, and by 5 p.m. for applications mailed or hand-delivered to Marcia M. Meis, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, 3101 Old Jacksonville Road, Springfield, IL 62704-6488.

Applicants who do not submit electronically must provide two signed, original applications. Faxes will not be accepted.