Judge Koester Announces Retirement

Effingham County Resident Circuit Judge Kimberly Koester has announced her retirement from the bench, effective December 30, 2020. 

(JUDGE KIMBERLY KOESTER)

Koester, who serves as Chief Judge of the 4th Judicial Circuit, was first elected to the bench in 2006 and was retained by a large margin in 2012 and again in 2016. She has held court in all nine counties of the 4th Judicial Circuit and has presided over numerous jury trials and bench trials.

Judge Koester said, "These past 14 years of serving on the bench has been the best part of my career. I have decided, though, that it is time to step aside in order to spend more time with my family. I will always hold fond memories of the 4th Judicial Circuit and I am proud of the accomplishments seen while I have held this position. I am most proud that I was on the original founding board of the Effingham County CASA Program. I was recently able to swear in the first group of advocates for the CASA Program in Marion County. It is staggering the number of children that this program has advocated for, and given a voice for, in the Illinois courts. 

I was also privileged to serve on the original board of Effingham County Crisis Nursery, which has grown into a large program serving families in crisis situations."

I am also proud of the strong court-related programs that have been developed in Effingham County and all the counties of the 4th Judicial Circuit, such as Drug Court."

The Court-related departments including, but not limited to, the State's Attorney, Public Defender and the Probation departments, all have shown an ability to work together while providing outstanding service to the public, victims and the indigent members of the community."

Judge Koester added, "Although I am proud of these programs, being selected by my peers to serve as Chief Judge of the 4th Judicial Circuit is what I'm most proud of. This is mainly an administrative role, but it has allowed me to make decisions and rulings that affected the courts, employees, and residents of the circuit. Although not every decision I made was popular, I stand behind every decision and truly believe that our circuit is better off for them. I began my term as Resident Circuit Judge by moving into a new Courthouse building and, since then, there have been so many changes in our circuit, especially in the area of technology. During my tenure, we have experienced increased litigation, a shift from paper to computer records, e-filing, bond reform and remote hearings brought on by COVID-19. It has been a struggle to keep up with it all, but all the Circuit Clerks, judges and attorneys are doing their best to change with the times. 2020 really threw us all for a loop, but the 4th Judicial Circuit is in a great position to handle the changes."

 Koester is a graduate of Effingham High School. She attended Miami (Ohio) University where she earned her degree in Political Science. She attended law school at Washington University in St. Louis. Upon graduating, she accepted a position with the State's Attorney's office in Vermilion County. From there, she returned to Effingham County and served as Conflicts Public Defender and later as Public Defender in Jasper County. She ran for State's Attorney in Jasper County and served in that capacity for two terms before opening a private law practice in Effingham. She ran for the position of Resident Circuit Judge upon the retirement of Steven P. Seymour.

Judge Koester said, "Retirement will allow me to devote time to certain volunteer projects I want to pursue. However, it's the time that I will be able to spend with my husband, children and grandchildren that I'm most looking for to. I want to thank all the citizens of Effingham County and the 4th Judicial Circuit for their support of me over the years."

Koester's position will remain open until the new Chief Judge deems it appropriate to fill the post, or until the next scheduled election.