Cantlin-VanWiggeren appointed La Salle County circuit judge

Ottawa attorney Christina Cantlin-VanWiggeren has been appointed La Salle County circuit judge, succeeding Eugene P. Daugherity, now an appellate justice.

Justice Robert L. Carter and the Illinois Supreme Court announced Cantlin-VanWiggeren’s appointment to the at-large seat Tuesday. Her judicial assignment takes effect March 22.

“I would like to thank Justice Carter, the Illinois Supreme Court and the screening committee for this appointment,” Cantlin-VanWiggeren said. “I look forward to serving the citizens of the 13th Circuit as a member of the judiciary.”

The at-large post means Cantlin-VanWiggeren must run for election in November 2022 across the three-county circuit (La Salle, Bureau and Grundy) if she wishes to keep her post. If elected, Cantlin-VanWiggeren would serve a six-year term and run for retention thereafter.

“I believe Justice Carter made an inspired choice,” Daugherity said. “Christina blends experience, work ethic, organizational skill and calmness. All traits which will serve her and the public well in the frenzied trial court.”

Cantlin-VanWiggeren is only the second woman to have served as a circuit judge of the 13th Circuit, joining Cynthia M. Raccuglia, who was named to the bench in 1991. (However, two women, Karen C. Eiten and Michelle A. Vescogni, do serve as associate judges.)

Raccuglia said she immediately reached out to Cantlin-VanWiggeren to offer her congratulations and support as she ascends the bench.

“I’m very pleased, and I think it’s well overdue,” Raccuglia said. “She is the perfect person for the job.”

Cantlin-VanWiggeren has 20 years of experience in private practice, having worked at Cantlin Law Firm since 2001. In her role, she was responsible for advising financial and government institutions including local cities, villages, townships, fire and drainage districts. Additional areas of her practice included estate planning, real estate, corporations and traffic defense.

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude, from the Northern Illinois University College of Law.

Her affiliations include the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Local Government Lawyers Association, the International Municipal Lawyers Association and the La Salle County Bar Association.

Cantlin-VanWiggeren serves on the First National Bank of Ottawa Board of Directors and the OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center Community Advisory Board. She is also the past chairperson of the Ottawa Regional Hospital Board of Directors.

Carter recommended the appointment to the full court following a review of applicants by a seven-person screening committee, which included three attorneys, Michael Reagan, Morgan Strow and Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr., and four nonattorneys, Roger Amm, Maria Balestri, Jane Goetz and Mary Beth Morelli.