Justice Mary Kay O'Brien, a native of Reddick, is a new member of the Illinois Supreme Court. O'Brien won a close race Tuesday to gain a seat on the state's 7-member high court.  A 3rd District Appellate Court justice and a former Democratic Illinois state representative for then-District 75 from 1997-2003, O’Brien defeated Republican Justice Michael J. Burke by a narrow 51% to 49% margin to earn the position for the court’s 3rd District.

O’Brien has been a justice in the 3rd Appellate Court for 19 years. Her 75th House District included Grundy County and portions of Kankakee, Will, Iroquois, Livingston and LaSalle counties. The Illinois Supreme Court will now have a 5-2 Democratic advantage.

O’Brien’s campaign said in a Wednesday Facebook post: “With a broad base of support, Justice Mary Kay O’Brien has been elected to the Illinois Supreme Court. Justice O’Brien began her campaign over a year ago determined to keep our courts fair and impartial. Last night the voters in the 3rd District placed their trust in Justice O’Brien. Mary Kay O’Brien will be a Justice for All.”

O’Brien will be the second Illinois Supreme Court justice from the Kankakee County region. Former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride, who served on the bench from 2000-2020, was connected to Kankakee County having grown up in Kankakee and graduated from Bishop McNamara Catholic High School in 1971.

O’Brien is a graduate of the former Reddick High School. She then attended Joliet Junior College and in 1986 earned her degree from Western Illinois University. In 1994, she earned her law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.

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