(WAND) - Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis has announced her retirement from the Illinois Supreme Court.
Her retirement will be effective January 29, 2026.
Justice Theis has served on the Supreme Court since 2010, having served in all levels of the judiciary in 40-plus years on the bench. She served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 2022 to 2025.
Justice Theis said of her retirement, “I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to serve. It has been my foremost goal to further the Court’s mission of providing access to equal justice, ensuring judicial integrity and upholding the rule of law.”
The Supreme Court has appointed First District Appellate Court Justice Sanjay T. Tailor to fill Justice Theis’ seat.
Justice Tailor, whose term is effective January 30, 2026, through December 4, 2028, will be the first Asian American to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court.
“I am grateful to Justice Mary Jane Theis and the other justices of the Illinois Supreme Court for their confidence and trust in appointing me Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court,” Justice Tailor said. “I also look forward to continuing the work of the Illinois Supreme Court to ensure that our system of justice serves all people fairly and equitably.”
Justice Theis succeeded retired Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald in 2010, becoming the fourth woman to serve on the high court.
Justice Theis oversaw the creation of the Supreme Court Executive Committee on the Practice of Law (Executive Committee). The Executive Committee is charged with making recommendations on issues impacting the practice of law and unmet legal needs. It has proposed and passed numerous improvements, including three that took effect July 1, 2025.
“Justice Mary Jane Theis has had an extraordinary record of service to both the bench and bar. She has served with distinction at all levels of the judiciary including most recently as our Chief Justice. During her tenure as Chief, she was a national leader in addressing the unmet legal needs of those individuals who could not afford legal representation or who lived in areas of the state where legal representation was not available. As Chief, she appointed the first Supreme Court Executive Committee on the Practice of Law whose sole mission was to address the unmet legal needs of Illinois residents,” said Attorney J. Timothy Eaton, who serves as Chair of the Executive Committee. “It was through her leadership that the Executive Committee launched many programs to improve access to legal representation. She also was a student of the law, and
her thoughtful and scholarly opinions will stand the test of time. She will be sorely missed.”
Justice Theis authored the opinion in Rowe v. Raoul, which declared the law eliminating cash bail in Illinois to be constitutional.
Kankakee County State’s Attorney James Rowe filed a lawsuit against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul challenging the constitutionality of the
2021 Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act that eliminated cash bail in the state of Illinois. After the Kankakee County Circuit Court declared the law unconstitutional, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s judgment and affirmed the SAFE-T Act’s constitutionality.
Justice Theis’ three-year term as Chief ended in October 2025. As an appellate court justice, she served as a Presiding Justice. She was Committee Chair of both the Committee on Judicial Education and the Committee on Judicial Conduct of the Illinois Judicial Conference, and a member of the Supreme Court Rules Committee. Justice Theis was President of the Appellate
Lawyers Association and the Illinois Judges Association, as well as President and founding member of the Illinois Judges Foundation. She has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association and is a member of the Women's Bar Association of Illinois.
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