Popejoy to run for appellate court post

Judge Kenneth L. Popejoy has announced his candidacy for the Second District Appellate Court in Elgin, which covers Naperville. Popejoy, who in 2004 won his current seat as circuit court judge for the 18th Judicial Circuit, seeks to fill the seat of Justice John J. Bowman, who will be retiring in 2010.

Popejoy currently serves as DuPage County's acting chief judge and presides over cases in the chancery division of the 18th Judicial Circuit. He was originally appointed as associate judge in 1997 and was reappointed in 1999 and 2003.

Popejoy has extensive experience on the bench, having served in the law/jury division, traffic court, bond court, juvenile court, small claims court, the domestic relations division and the domestic violence court.

"Judge Popejoy works hard and makes sound, well-reasoned decisions based on the law and the facts, not outside influences," said Jim Ryan, former attorney general for the state of Illinois.

"Having observed the legal community from a law enforcement perspective, I would without hesitation say that Judge Popejoy is a man of honesty and integrity who always 'calls them as he sees them' under the rule of law," said DuPage County Sheriff John E. Zaruba.

A 1977 IIT/Chicago Kent College of Law honors graduate, Popejoy earned his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University, where he graduated in 1973 with honors and received the Big Ten Medal of Honor for his academic and athletic achievements. A lifelong northern Illinois resident, Popejoy attended Glenbard West High School.

The primary election is scheduled for February 2010, with three separate and distinct appellate court seats up for election. Besides the Bowman vacancy, Justice Ann Jorgensen and Justice Mary Schostok have each announced they will seek to retain their seats on the court.