Judge Schoenstedt Retiring, Won't Run Public Defender's Office

JOLIET, IL — Just weeks after the voters of Will County chose to retain Chief Judge Richard Schoenstedt for another six-year term, the Joliet native announced Tuesday he will be retiring from the bench effective Jan. 17. By staying until mid-January, the 64-year-old Schoenstedt will have 20 years on the bench and qualify for what's called a Tier 1 public pension through the Illinois Judicial Retirement System.

Schoenstedt's upcoming pension will be calculated at 85 percent of his circuit court judge's salary, which is about $214,000. In addition, Schoenstedt can expect a 3 percent annual cost of living adjustment as he gets older.

During Tuesday's interview on the 10th floor of the new Will County Courthouse, Joliet Patch asked Schoenstedt about his decision to submit his retirement letter to the Illinois Supreme Court just weeks after voters chose to retain him for another six years on the bench.

According to the Will County Clerk's Office, Schoenstedt garnered 211,524 votes from Will County residents wanting to retain him for another six-year term, which was exactly 72 percent of the vote. A total of 82,099 voters did not want to keep Schoenstedt on Will County's bench.

An elected judge needs to get at least 60 percent of the vote to remain in office.

What if Schoenstedt had made it public prior to the election that he planned to retire in January to qualify for his full judge's pension? Would the voters have chosen to retain him Nov. 3?

"I don't know the answer to that," Schoenstedt said. "It never crossed my mind."

Schoenstedt graduated from Joliet Catholic High School in 1974 and his father and grandfather were also lawyers, as is his daughter, he told Joliet Patch during Tuesday's interview.

"I love judging very much," Schoenstedt told Patch.

He became an associate judge in February 2001, and January will mark his 240th month as a Will County judge, he said. He was elected as a Will County circuit judge in November 2002 and was the presiding judge over felony court for 10 years.

Schoenstedt told Patch he is not sure what he will do once he retires next month.

(Joliet Patch article continues below this letter.)

"I feel like I've got more to give. I've had 20 years as a lawyer and 20 years as a judge. I'll take at least a few weeks off ... I'm looking forward to the next phase of my life, but it's been incredibly fulfilling. I consider myself a very lucky person."

Last week, Will County announced that Circuit Judge Dan Kennedy, who was first elected to the bench in 2014, is replacing Schoenstedt as the chief judge for Will County's 12th judicial court. Kennedy is a Democrat and Joliet resident.

Following the Kennedy announcement, a number of people at the Will County Courthouse suggested to Joliet Patch that Schoenstedt might be stepping down to take over the Will County Public Defender's Office as his next career endeavor.

When asked about that job scenario Tuesday morning, Schoenstedt told Patch he has no plans to manage the public defender's office.

He said nobody has asked him about that job nor has he inquired about it.

"I've approached no one (and) no one's approached me," he said.

Schoenstedt said he would not rule out other job possibilities in the public or private sector in the future.

"Private practice," he said, "that's a possibility, and doing nothing is a possibility."

He remarked that being a golf ranger sounds like a great possibility for now.

In November, Schoenstedt, a Republican, endorsed the retention of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride, who became the first supreme court justice in state history not retained by the voters. A Democrat, Kilbride received thousands of dollars in contributions from Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan's Democratic Party of Illinois campaign.

During Tuesday's interview, Patch asked Schoenstedt if his support for Kilbride rankled fellow Republicans judges and lawyers around Will County.

"I personally did not get any backlash from any Republicans in the legal community," he said. "I feel strongly that judicial independence is more important than politics. I think everyone knew (Kilbride's retention) could go either way. I was not really surprised either way. One door closes and another door opens" for Kilbride.

(Joliet Patch article continues below this letter.)

Schoenstedt said he planned to stay as a judge as long as the construction for the new Will County Courthouse was still ongoing, since he oversaw that project for several years.

Theoretically, if the new courthouse fell behind schedule and was not ready to open until April or May, Schoenstedt said his retirement notice would not have taken effect Jan. 17.

"I spent eight years working on the (new) courthouse," he said. "I think it would have been bad form if I had taken off" before the new building finished.

The new $215 million courthouse opened Monday, Nov. 2, the day before the elections.

The Illinois Supreme Court will appoint a new Will County circuit judge to fill Schoenstedt's vacancy. In turn, the circuit judge seat will be on the November 2022 ballot for the voters to decide, Schoenstedt said.

By retiring just weeks into his new six-year term, "it doesn't hurt the citizens of Will County," Schoenstedt said. "I'm not taking extra money."

Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Joliet Patch newsletters and real-time email alerts.