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Sticka sworn in as associate judge · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Stick A sworn in as associate judge Written by Tom Collins.
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  This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  to you by Everlett. One of Greg Sticka's first calls
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  was to Judge Todd Martin. Sticka was to be ceremonially
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  sworn in as judge. Would Martin mind saying a few
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  words at the investiture, Martin, a longtime friend, readily agreed
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  to the honor until he remembered that Stika is a
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  native of the Green Bay area and a Packers fan.
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  I thought to myself, oh, no, we made a mistake,
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  Martin said, tongue in cheek at Fridays swearing in. So
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  I called the chief judge to tell him I think
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  we made a mistake here, and after he got done
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  yelling at me, he said, we can't use football team
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  preferences as criterion for selecting judges. Sticka bore the good
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  natured teasing in stride, and ever humble took his turn
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  at the podium in LaSalle County Circuit to give thanks
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  to his family, his mentors, and his colleagues for helping
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  him ascend to the bench. I've always done my best
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  to treat people with respect. To be fair, to do
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  things to the best of my ability, stick A said,
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  and I take it very seriously the trust that's been
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  placed in me to do this very important job by
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  the judges, and I will put everything that I have
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  into it. Friday's ceremony was actually quite belated. He had
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  been appointed an associate judge to the thirteenth Judicial Circuit
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  LaSalle Bureau and Grundy Counties in April, and then quietly
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  sworn in May first to fill the gap left by
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  Judge Michael C. Yans, who retired from the Traffic Division.
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  But where to put Stika, fresh off twenty eight year
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  service as a prosecutor. Virtually all in LaSalle County could
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  stick A simply take Yance's seat and try defendants he'd
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  previously prosecuted. Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Junior finally put
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  the question to rest when he juggled assignments. Judge James
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  Andrea now presides in LaSalle County's Traffic Court, while Sticka
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  handles cases in Bureau County. There to stay for the
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  foreseeable future. Yance expressed confidence Stika will be up to
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  the task. Stika, he said, cultivated a reputation as an intelligent,
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  hard working, and humble attorney who should transition easily from
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  bar to bench. The new judge fifty four graduated from
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  the University of Wisconsin, Madison in nineteen ninety four with
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  a degree in political science. He earned his law degree
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  from DePaul University College of Law in nineteen ninety seven
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  and was admitted to the bar later that year. He
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  briefly practiced in Chicago and joined the LaSalle County State's
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  Attorney's Office in nineteen ninety eight. He rose steadily through
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  the prosecutor's office served as chief Deputy from twenty twelve
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  to twenty twenty two. Save for a brief stint in
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  the Bureau County State's Attorney's Office, Sticka has spent virtually
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  all the past three decades as a Lasal County prosecutor.
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  Along the way, Stika amassed some impressive figures As a
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  felony prosecutor. He tried seven murder cases, more than fifty
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  jury trials, and many more bench trials. Martin noted that
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  Stika served under seven States Attorneys for LaSalle County, Democrat
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  and Republican. Now when you hear that, that usually means
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  that somebody got let go when they were bouncing from
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  county to county. Martin said that's not the case with Greg.
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  Greg worked in the same office with the newly elected
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  states Attorney keeping him on staff each time because of
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  his work ethic. His last such State's attorney, incumbent Joe Navarro,
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  agreed and predicted Stika will do an excellent job. He
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  is an honorable man and will do a great job.
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  Navarro said, I have no reservations.