MOLINE, ILLINOIS (April 9, 2025) — Tionn Fambro Carter, the first black female judge appointed to the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit of Illinois, will gather supporters and the press to formally announce that she is seeking the Democratic nomination for the position of Circuit Judge in the 2026 elections.
The seat is being vacated by Judge Linnea E Thompson, who has announced that she will not seek retention. The primary is March 17, 2026 and the general election is November 3, 2026.
Judge Carter will formally announce her candidacy on Monday, April 14, 4-5:30PM, at Local Union 25, Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall, 4600 46th Ave, Rock Island, Illinois.
Judge Carter currently serves as an Associate Judge for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit of Illinois. She has been assigned to preside over cases in civil, criminal, and juvenile court matters. Prior to her appointment on April 15, 2024, she was a partner in private practice with the Brooks Law Firm, Rock Island, Illinois, representing clients on a broad range of civil legal matters, including orders of protection, divorce, custody/visitation matters, and guardianships. She has also represented clients on matters related to social security disability law, workers compensation, and domestic and international immigration matters.
Judge Carter’s service beyond the law firm included working for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit on a daily basis as a conflict attorney for felony and misdemeanor cases and as a court appointed attorney for Rock Island County in Juvenile Abuse and Neglect and Juvenile Delinquency cases. As an effort to continue in the resolution of criminal cases, she has served as a coordinator and speaker for the Expungement Clinic sponsored by the Rock Island County Circuit Clerk’s Office and the NAACP.
Judge Carter’s community service extends to the broader Rock Island County community. She is a current Board Member for the Rock Island County Bar Association. She has been the Legal Redress Chair of the NAACP, a board member of the Greater Metropolitan Housing Authority, a member of the Moline Human Rights Commission, and co-chair of the Policies and Procedures Committee of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Furthermore, she has been a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association.
Judge Carter’s awards and recognition extend to being a recipient of the Rock Island County Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer of the Year Award in “recognition of Outstanding Commitment to Serving the Legal Needs of the Poor” as well at the Distinguished Alumnae Award for Southern Illinois University School of Law.
Carter graduated Summa Cum Laude and Valedictorian from Tennessee State University where she was a Bill Gates Millennium Scholar and was selected as an intern for the Tennessee House of Representatives. She earned her law degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where she was a Thurgood Marshall Scholar and a Dr James E Walker Presidential Scholar. While in law school, she was selected to participate in the Domestic Violence Clinic, the Judicial Clerkship Clinic, an internship at the litigation division of the St Louis, Missouri Attorney General’s Office, and studied Constitutional and Comparative Law Abroad at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa.
