SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday that Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. has been chosen to be the state’s 123 rd chief justice, succeeding Mary Jane Theis, whose three-year term as head of the court expires Oct. 26.

Theis, who was named chief justice in 2022 , will remain on the court as an associate justice.

Neville, 76, has served on the court since 2018 when he was appointed to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Charles Freeman. He was elected to a 10-year term in 2020. He previously served as an appellate court justice and as a Cook County circuit court judge.

According to a release from the court, Neville began his legal career as the first Black law clerk for a Cook County appellate justice. Later, he practiced civil law and appellate law,

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