One of Greg Sticka’s first calls was to Judge Todd Martin. Sticka was to be ceremonially sworn in as judge: Would Martin mind saying a few words at the investiture?

I will put everything that I have into it.

—  Greg Sticka, associate judge

Martin, a longtime friend, readily agreed to the honor – until he remembered that Sticka is a native of the Green Bay area and a Packers fan.

“I thought to myself, ‘Oh, no, we made a mistake,’” Martin said, tongue in cheek, at Friday’s swearing-in. “So I called the chief judge to tell him, ‘I think we made a mistake here.’

“And after he got done yelling at me, he said we can’t use football team preferences as criterion for selecting judges.”

Sticka bore the good-natured teasing in stride and, ever humble, took his turn at the podium in La Salle County Circuit Court to give thanks to his family, his mentors, and his colleagues for helping him ascend to the bench.

“I’ve always done my best to treat people with respect, to be fair, to do things to the best of my ability,” Sticka said. “And I take it very seriously, the trust that’s been placed in me to do this very important job by the judges.

“And I will put everything that I have into it.”

Friday’s ceremony was actually quite belated. He had been appointed an associate judge to the 13^th Judicial Circuit (La Salle, Bureau and Grundy counties) in April and then quietly sworn in May 1 to fill the gap left by Judge Michael C. Jansz, who retired from the traffic division.

But where to put Sticka? Fresh off 28 years’ service as a prosecutor (virtually all in La Salle County), could Sticka simply take Jansz’s seat and try defendants he’d previously prosecuted?

Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. finally put the question to rest when he juggled assignments. Judge James Andreoni now presides in La Salle County’s traffic court while Sticka handles cases in Bureau County, there to stay for the foreseeable future.

Jansz expressed confidence Sticka will be up to the task. Sticka, he said, cultivated a reputation as an “intelligent, hardworking and humble” attorney who should transition easily from bar to bench.

The newjudge, 54, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994 with a degree in political science. He earned his law degree from DePaul University College of Law in 1997 and was admitted to the bar later that year.

He briefly practiced in Chicago and joined the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office in 1998. He rose steadily through the prosecutor’s office, served as chief deputy from 2012 to 2022. Save for a brief stint in the Bureau County State’s Attorney’s Office, Sticka has spent virtually all the past three decades as a La Salle County prosecutor.

Along the way, Sticka amassed some impressive figures as a felony prosecutor. He tried seven murder cases, more than 50 jury trials and many more bench trials.

Martin noted that Sticka served under seven state’s attorneys for La Salle County, Democrat and Republican.

“Now, when you hear that, that usually means that somebody got let go when they were bouncing from county to county,” Martin said. “That’s not the case with Greg. Greg worked in the same office with the newly elected state’s attorney keeping him on staff each time because of his work ethic.”

His last such state’s attorney, incumbent Joe Navarro, agreed and predicted Sticka will do an excellent job.

“He is an honorable man and will do a great job,” Navarro said. “I have no reservations.”