EDWARDSVILLE - Retiring Chief Judge William A. Mudge announced today that Circuit Judge Steve Stobbs has been selected to serve as the next Chief Judge for a two-year term. The ballots submitted by the Circuit Judges were unanimous. Judge Mudge is retiring on December 4. Judge Stobbs will commence serving in his new role on December 5.
“I am honored to be selected by my colleagues to serve as Chief Judge. I look forward to working with my fellow judges and the wonderful employees at the Courthouse to serve the people of the Third Judicial Circuit,” Stobbs said. “Judge Stobbs is a respected and experienced jurist and I leave the Third Judicial Circuit in good hands with him at the helm,” said Mudge.
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Chief Judge Stobbs was elected Circuit Judge as a Republican in 2020 after first serving as an Associate Judge for fourteen years. Prior to his judicial career, Stobbs served as a member of the Madison County Board representing Godfrey.
Throughout his judicial career, Chief Judge Stobbs has presided over every type of case, including traffic, criminal, probate, chancery, civil, and family, where he served as Presiding Judge.
Since 2013, Stobbs has served as the Presiding Judge over the county’s asbestos docket. Stobbs will continue to serve as Presiding Judge of that docket in addition to his duties as Chief Judge.
While on the bench, Chief Judge Stobbs has been appointed to several committees by the Illinois Supreme Court on the recommendation of Justice Lloyd Karmeier, including the Medical Malpractice Mediation Committee, the Foreclosure Mediation Committee, and the Legislative Committee, which monitors the legislative activity of the Illinois General Assembly as it effects the judicial branch.
Chief Judge Stobbs was first licensed to practice law in 1994 following his graduation from the Thomas Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich., and previously from Saint Louis University, where he completed his undergraduate degree with honors.
From 1994 until his appointment as an Associate Judge in 2006, Stobbs practiced law with his father, the late John Dale Stobbs, at Stobbs & Sinclair, Ltd. in Alton. He is married to his wife, Katie, for twenty-seven years, and they are the proud parents of Madeleine (23), Grace (21), Caroline (19), and Stephen (15).
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