MOUNT VERNON, Ill. (AP) - A justice with the state's 5th District Appellate Court in southern Illinois says he'll be retiring after more than a decade on the bench. Fifty-nine-year-old James Donovan announced Friday that his retirement from the court covering 37 counties will take effect in December of next year. Donovan says he's announcing his plans to retire more than a year in advance so potential successors can run in next year's primary election. He was assigned to the court in 2002 and was elected two years later. He previously had served as an assistant state's attorney and public defender in St. Clair County, and as an associate and circuit judge in the 20th judicial circuit. ucngq
