MADISON COUNTY — Madison County Circuit Judge, John B. Barberis, Junior, has announced that he will run for the Illinois 5th District Appellate Court in the November 2016 election.

Judge Barberis will be running as the Republican candidate for the seat being vacated by the honorable Justice Bruce Stewart who has announced his retirement after his current term expires.

If elected, Barberis, a lifelong conservative, promises to base his decisions on a strict adherence to the Illinois and U. S. Constitutions. Barberis successfully ran for the Madison County Circuit Judge position in the November, 2014 Election.

Prior to being elected Circuit Judge, Barberis was a part time state’s attorney for nearly 15 years and was in private practice for 18 years.

Throughout the course of his career he handled cases in many different areas of the law including family, business formations and general business law, personal injury, constitutional law, title work and real estate law, traffic and criminal defense, probate law, and class action work.

The Fifth District Appellate Court serves 37 counties in Southern Illinois stretching from Effingham County to a portion of the Metro East area including Washington County and the surrounding counties.

The primary election is March 15, 2016, with the general election on November 8th.