MT. VERNON — Chief Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced that retired Circuit Judge Milton S. Wharton has been assigned as an Appellate Court Justice in the Fifth District based in Mt. Vernon.

Judge Wharton was assigned to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Fifth District Appellate Court Justice Melissa Chapman, who will retire effective October 2, 2019. Judge Wharton’s assignment will take effect on November 1, 2019 and conclude December 7, 2020 following the November 2020 general election. Judge Wharton will not be a candidate in the race to fill the vacancy permanently.

For 35 years, Judge Wharton served with distinction in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, first as an associate judge from l976 to 1988 and then as a circuit judge until his retirement in 2012.

Judge Wharton earned his Bachelor of Arts from the Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois, and his Juris Doctor from the DePaul University School of Law in 1974. He is a member of the SIU Edwardsville Hall of Fame and a former Alumnus of the Year.

The Fifth Judicial District is composed of 37 counties in the southernmost part of Illinois, including: Alexander, Bond, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, Shelby, St. Clair, Wabash, Wayne, Washington, White, Williamson, and Union.