July 25 , 2017

The Vermilion County Courthouse will be dedicated in the name of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita B. Garman during a ceremony scheduled for Aug. 4. Former Gov. Jim Edgar will be the keynote speaker at the 3 p.m. ceremony at David S. Palmer Arena in Danville.

The Vermilion County board voted in March to rename the building the Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse and the ceremony, which is open to the public, will acknowledge that honor as well as Garman's achievements and years of service.

“I am humbled by this great honor. When Gill and I came to Danville almost 50 years ago to start our careers and our family, I had no idea that I was taking the first step in a career that would take me all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court," Justice Garman said. "I want to thank the entire community for its confidence in me over the years and for this generous gesture. The Vermilion County Courthouse was my judicial “home” for over twenty years, and I am gratified to think that my name will always be linked to the place where I learned so much and made so many friends.”

Garman is a 1965 UI graduate and 1968 graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law. She began her judicial career at the Vermilion County Courthouse as an associate judge and was a judge in the Fifth Judicial Circuit from 1986 to 1995, including presiding judge for eight of those years. She became a state appellate court judge and was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court in February 2001, where she served as chief justice from 2013 to 2016.