2022 Illinois judicial elections
The 2020 Illinois judicial elections will consist of both partisan and retention elections. Primaries will be held for partisan elections. The general election will be held on November 8, 2020. These elections will be part of the 2022 Illinois elections. Supreme Court of Illinois. Justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois are elected by district. Two seats will be holding partisan elections. Two seats will be holding retention elections. The court has seven seats total separated into five districts. The first district, representing Cook County, contains three seats, making it a multi-member district, while other  four districts are single-member districts. Justices hold ten year terms. On June 4, 2021, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed legislation which redrew the Supreme Court's districts. Before this, the districts had not been redrawn in over five decades. The court had previously been using boundaries created in 1964. 2nd district. In the 2020, the 2nd district seat, which had been held by Robert R. Thomas, a Republican, was originally scheduled to have retention election. However, Thomas retired February 29, 2020. On March 1, 2020, Michael J. Burke, a Republican, assumed his seat, and will hold it until a special  election in 2022. Under the new maps created by redistricting, Burke's residence is now located in the 3rd district, and he has declared his intention to run in the election to that seat, leaving the 2nd district with an open race. 3rd district. In 2020, 3rd district judge Thomas L. Kilbride, a Democrat, lost his retention election. Robert L. Carter, a Democrat, was appointed by the court to hold the seat until a 2022 special election to fill it. Upon his appointment, Carter declared that he did not intend to seek reelection in 2022, leaving the 3rd district with  an open race. Illinois Appellate Court. Illinois Appellate Court justices hold ten-year terms. Retention and partisan elections will be held for several of these positions. Lower courts. Lower courts will also see judicial elections.