4TH DISTRICT RACES
Two well-qualified incumbent judicial candidates will also be on the ballot in the Fourth District in 2024 for different positions.
Appellate Court Justice Gene Doherty
Justice Eugene Doherty graduated summa cum laude from the Northern Illinois University School of Law in 1989. After serving as a law clerk to Honorable Philip G. Reinhard at the Illinois Appellate Court, Justice Doherty engaged in a civil litigation practice in Rockford, Illinois. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in 2007, a position to which he was elected in 2008 and retained in 2012 and 2020. He served as chief judge of the 17th Circuit from 2018 through 2021. Justice Doherty is the author of a variety of articles in several legal publications including the Illinois Bar Journal, and he has been an instructor at the Illinois Education Conference multiple times. He serves on several Supreme Court Committees, including serving as chair of the e-Business Policy Advisory Board and vice-chair of the COVID-19 Task Force. In 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court assigned him to the Illinois Appellate Court for the Fourth District.
Appellate Court Justice Amy Lannerd
Amy C. Lannerd was born in Quincy, Illinois. In 1998, she received her B.S. degree in business administration from the University of Arizona and, in 2001, her J.D. degree from the University of Denver. In 2001, Judge Lannerd began her legal career as a general practitioner in Quincy. In 2008, she was approved as a family and divorce mediator.
The Illinois Supreme Court appointed her to the 8th Judicial Circuit Court in 2016, a position to which she was elected in 2018. As a circuit judge, she served on the committee to establish the Adams County Mental Health Court and as the alternate judge for the Mental Health and Drug Courts programs. In 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court assigned her to the Illinois Appellate Court for the Fourth District. Prior to her assignment, she presided over a felony docket since 2018.
Judge Lannerd has been a presenter multiple times at Ed Con, the mandatory biennial judicial education program for all Illinois judges. She has served as an Ed Con course supervisor and civil tract workgroup member. Prior to taking the bench, she presented at various Illinois State Bar Association continuing legal education courses. In addition, she has been a guest lecturer at Quincy University.
Judge Lannerd served as a member of the Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force Communications Subcommittee. She is a member of the Illinois Judges Association and Illinois State and Adams County Bar Associations.
