Freitag sets candidacy for circuit judge

Thursday, September 13, 2007 11:18 PM CDT

BLOOMINGTON — Standing beside a statue of Lincoln in the lobby of the McLean County Law and Justice Center, Robert Freitag quoted the 16th president as saying, “Whatever you are, be a good one.”

The associate judge announced to about 60 supporters, private attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and current and former judges he will run for the circuit judge seat currently held by Judge Donald Bernardi.

Bernardi announced three days earlier he would retire in December 2008.

Freitag said he hopes to live up to Lincoln’s words, as Bernardi has.

“To be a good judge, one must possess the integrity to inspire public confidence in the judiciary, the temperament to demonstrate patience and fairness to all who come before the court and the commitment to continually recognize that a judge is, first and foremost, a public servant,” Freitag said.

Freitag, who lives in Carlock, was appointed an associate judge in 2000, and he has practiced law in Central Illinois since 1987. That’s when he received a law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and began a private practice in Champaign-Urbana, he said.

In 1989, he became McLean County’s first full-time assistant public defender, he said.

Freitag became a Woodford County assistant state’s attorney in 1990 and a McLean County assistant state’s attorney in 1991. He served in that job until his appointment to the bench in 2000, according to information provided by his campaign.