CHARLESTON — Cara Honselman Shoaff has announced her intent to run for election to the position of judge in the 5th Judicial Circuit.

The vacancy will result from the retirement of Judge James Glenn in December 2022. The 5th Circuit is made up of Edgar, Clark, Cumberland, Coles and Vermilion counties.

“I have always been proud to call the counties which make up this circuit my home, and I would be honored and excited to serve in this way,” Shoaff said in a press release.

Shoaff, 39, a Casey native, received her undergraduate degree in accounting and international business management from Millikin University in 2004, and her law degree from Southern Illinois University in 2007.

While at Millikin, Shoaff worked in operations accounting at ADM in Decatur and for state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, and the Illinois State Senate Republicans in Springfield. She clerked during law school for Heller, Holmes & Associates in Mattoon and provided free legal services to those over age 65 in the Elder Law Clinic at SIU.

In 2007, Shoaff moved to Charleston to work as an associate attorney at Tapella & Eberspacher LLC, leaving in 2011 to build her own practice, now Shoaff Law LLC. She has appeared in and serves clients in each of the 5th Circuit counties.

The judicial candidate has experience in civil litigation, real estate, family law, small claims, landlord tenant and eviction matters, probate, municipal law, and business and estate planning. She is the attorney for the City of Casey and the Village of Ashmore.

Shoaff is a member of Casey United Methodist Church and formerly attended Charleston Wesley United Methodist Church, serving both congregations as a musician, board member or Sunday school teacher. She served on the board of the Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation, formerly the Mattoon Area Community Foundation. She coaches youth soccer, baseball and basketball.

In 2014, Shoaff was a recipient of the Coles County 20 Under 40 award. She and her husband, Adam, have two children, Eli and Eva, and reside in Casey.