# United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois

The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (in case citations, C.D. Ill.) serves the residents of forty-six counties, which are divided into four divisions. The counties are: Adams, Brown, Bureau, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Kankakee, Knox, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McLean, Macoupin, Macon, Marshall, Mason, Menard, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Vermilion, Warren, and Woodford counties.
The courthouses for the Central District's four divisions are in Peoria, Rock Island, Springfield, and Urbana. In 2018, all court operations for the Rock Island District were moved to the federal courthouse in Davenport, Iowa, due to uninhabitable conditions at the Rock Island courthouse.
Appeals are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
As of January 3, 2025, the acting United States attorney is Gregory M. Gilmore.

## History

The United States District Court for the District of Illinois was established by a statute passed by the United States Congress on March 3, 1819, 3 Stat. 502. The act established a single office for a judge to preside over the court. Initially, the court was not within any existing judicial circuit, and appeals from the court were taken directly to the United States Supreme Court. In 1837, Congress created the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, placing it in Chicago, Illinois and giving it jurisdiction over the District of Illinois, 5 Stat. 176.
On February 13, 1855, by 10 Stat. 606, the District of Illinois was subdivided into Northern and the Southern Districts. An Eastern District was created on March 3, 1905 by 33 Stat. 992, by splitting counties out of the Northern and Southern Districts. It was later eliminated in a reorganization on October 2, 1978 which replaced it with the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois District, 92 Stat. 883. The newly created Central District was formed primarily from parts of the Southern District, and returned some counties to the Northern District. Some judges from both the Eastern and Southern Districts were transferred to the Central District by operation of law.

## Current judges

As of November 15, 2024:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 11 | Chief Judge | Sara Darrow | Rock Island | 1970 | 2011–present | 2019–present | — | Obama |
| 12 | District Judge | Colin S. Bruce | Urbana | 1965 | 2013–present | — | — | Obama |
| 13 | District Judge | Colleen Lawless | Springfield | 1983 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 14 | District Judge | Jonathan E. Hawley | Peoria | 1971 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 4 | Senior Judge | Michael M. Mihm | Peoria | 1943 | 1982–2009 | 1991–1998 | 2009–present | Reagan |
| 6 | Senior Judge | Joe Billy McDade | Peoria | 1937 | 1991–2010 | 1998–2004 | 2010–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 9 | Senior Judge | James Shadid | Peoria | 1957 | 2011–2024 | 2012–2019 | 2024–present | Obama |
| 10 | Senior Judge | Sue E. Myerscough | Springfield | 1951 | 2011–2023 | — | 2023–present | Obama |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| — | Henry Seiler Wise | IL | 1909–1982 | — | — | 1979–1982 | L. Johnson / Operation of law | death |
| 1 | Robert Dale Morgan | IL | 1912–2002 | 1979–1982 | 1979–1982 | 1982–2002 | L. Johnson / Operation of law | death |
| 2 | J. Waldo Ackerman | IL | 1926–1984 | 1979–1984 | 1982–1984 | — | Ford / Operation of law | death |
| 3 | Harold Baker | IL | 1929–2023 | 1979–1994 | 1984–1991 | 1994–2022 | Carter / Operation of law | retirement |
| 5 | Richard Henry Mills | IL | 1929–2023 | 1985–1997 | — | 1997–2023 | Reagan | death |
| 7 | Michael P. McCuskey | IL | 1948–present | 1998–2013 | 2004–2012 | 2013–2014 | Clinton | retirement |
| 8 | Jeanne E. Scott | IL | 1948–2019 | 1998–2010 | — | — | Clinton | resignation |
* 1 2 Reassigned from the Eastern District of Illinois
* 1 2 Reassigned from the Southern District of Illinois

## Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.
A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

## Succession of seats

Seat 1 :
| Seat reassigned from Eastern District on March 31, 1979 by 93 Stat. 6 ||||
| Baker | 1979–1994 |
| McCuskey | 1998–2013 |
| Bruce | 2013–present |
Seat 2 :
| Seat reassigned from Southern District on March 31, 1979 by 93 Stat. 6 ||||
| Ackerman | 1979–1984 |
| Mills | 1985–1997 |
| Scott | 1998–2010 |
| Myerscough | 2011–2023 |
| Lawless | 2023–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat reassigned from Southern District on March 31, 1979 by 93 Stat. 6 ||||
| Morgan | 1979–1982 |
| Mihm | 1982–2009 |
| Shadid | 2011–2024 |
| Hawley | 2024–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 (temporary) ||||
| Seat made permanent on November 2, 2002 by 116 Stat. 1758 ||||
| McDade | 1991–2010 |
| Darrow | 2011–present |

## U.S. Attorneys

* Gerald D. Fines 1977–86
* J. William Roberts 1986–93
* Byron G. Cudmore 1993
* Frances C. Hulin 1993–2002
* Jan Paul Miller 2002–2005
* Rodger A. Heaton 2005–2009
* Jeffrey B. Lang 2009–2010
* James A. Lewis 2010–2016
* John C. Milhiser 2018–2021
* Gregory K. Harris 2021–2025