# United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (in case citations, S.D. Ill.) is a federal district court covering approximately the southern third of the state of Illinois.
Appeals from the Southern District of Illinois 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).
It has three courthouses, at Benton, Cairo, and East St. Louis. At present, four judges are assigned to this district.

## 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, so the district court exercised the jurisdiction of both a district court and a circuit court, with appeals and writs of error taken directly to the United States Supreme Court. In 1837, Congress placed the District of Illinois within the newly created Seventh Circuit, and the district court resumed its normal jurisdiction, 5 Stat. 176.
The Southern District itself was created by a statute passed on February 13, 1855, 10 Stat. 606, which subdivided the District of Illinois into the Northern and the Southern Districts. The boundaries of the District and the seats of the courts were set forth in the statute:
   The counties of Hancock, McDonough, Peoria, Woodford, Livingston, and Iroquois, and all the counties in the said State north of them, shall compose one district, to be called the northern district of Illinois, and courts shall be held for the said district at the city of Chicago; and the residue of the counties of the said State shall compose another district, to be called the southern district of Illinois, and courts shall be held for the same at the city of Springfield.
The district has since been re-organized several times. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois 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 a Central District, 92 Stat. 883, formed primarily from parts of the Southern District, and returning some counties to the Northern District.

## Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the Southern District of Illinois comprises the following counties: Alexander, Bond, Calhoun, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Cumberland, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, St. Clair, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, and Williamson. The district was created in 1979. It has jurisdiction over the eastern suburbs of St. Louis and the city of Carbondale.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Illinois represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current United States Attorney is Rachelle Crowe, who was sworn in on June 21, 2022.

## Current judges

As of September 23, 2020:
| # | 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 |
| 21 | Chief Judge | Nancy J. Rosenstengel | East St. Louis | 1968 | 2014–present | 2019–present | — | Obama |
| 22 | District Judge | Staci M. Yandle | Benton | 1961 | 2014–present | — | — | Obama |
| 23 | District Judge | Stephen P. McGlynn | East St. Louis | 1962 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
| 24 | District Judge | David W. Dugan | East St. Louis | 1960 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
| 16 | Senior Judge | John Phil Gilbert | Benton | 1949 | 1992–2014 | 1993–2000 | 2014–present | G.H.W. Bush |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | Samuel Hubbel Treat Jr. | IL | 1811–1887 | 1855–1887 | — | — | Pierce | death |
| 2 | William J. Allen | IL | 1829–1901 | 1887–1901 | — | — | Cleveland | death |
| 3 | J. Otis Humphrey | IL | 1850–1918 | 1901–1918 | — | — | McKinley | death |
| 4 | Louis FitzHenry | IL | 1870–1935 | 1918–1933 | — | — | Wilson | elevation to 7th Cir. |
| 5 | Charles Guy Briggle | IL | 1883–1972 | 1932–1958 | 1948–1958 | 1958–1972 | Hoover | death |
| 6 | James Earl Major | IL | 1887–1972 | 1933–1937 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | elevation to 7th Cir. |
| 7 | J. Leroy Adair | IL | 1887–1956 | 1937–1956 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 8 | Frederick Olen Mercer | IL | 1901–1966 | 1956–1966 | 1958–1966 | — | Eisenhower | death |
| — | William George Juergens | IL | 1904–1988 | — | — | 1979–1988 | Eisenhower/Operation of law | death |
| 9 | Omer Poos | IL | 1902–1976 | 1958–1973 | 1966–1972 | 1973–1976 | Eisenhower | death |
| 10 | Robert Dale Morgan | IL | 1912–2002 | 1967–1979 | 1972–1979 | — | L. Johnson | reassignment to C.D. Ill. |
| 11 | James L. Foreman | IL | 1927–2012 | 1979–1992 | 1979–1992 | 1992–2012 | Nixon/Operation of law | death |
| 12 | Harlington Wood Jr. | IL | 1920–2008 | 1973–1976 | — | — | Nixon | elevation to 7th Cir. |
| 13 | James Waldo Ackerman | IL | 1926–1984 | 1976–1979 | — | — | Ford | reassignment to C.D. Ill. |
| 14 | William Louis Beatty | IL | 1925–2001 | 1979–1992 | — | 1992–2001 | Carter | death |
| 15 | William Donald Stiehl | IL | 1925–2016 | 1986–1996 | 1992–1993 | 1996–2016 | Reagan | death |
| 17 | Paul E. Riley | IL | 1942–2001 | 1994–2001 | — | — | Clinton | death |
| 18 | G. Patrick Murphy | IL | 1948–present | 1998–2013 | 2000–2007 | — | Clinton | retirement |
| 19 | David R. Herndon | IL | 1953–present | 1998–2019 | 2007–2014 | — | Clinton | retirement |
| 20 | Michael Joseph Reagan | IL | 1954–present | 2000–2019 | 2014–2019 | — | Clinton | retirement |
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 20, 1887, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 19, 1888, and received commission the same day.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 8, 1934, confirmed by the Senate on January 23, 1934, and received commission on January 26, 1934.
* 1 2 Reassigned from the Eastern 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 established on February 13, 1855 by 10 Stat. 606 ||
| Treat, Jr. | 1855–1887 |
| Allen | 1887–1901 |
| Humphrey | 1901–1918 |
| FitzHenry | 1918–1933 |
| Major | 1934–1937 |
| Adair | 1937–1956 |
| Mercer | 1956–1966 |
| Morgan | 1967–1979 |
| Seat reassigned to Central District on March 31, 1979 by 93 Stat. 6 ||
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on February 20, 1931 by 46 Stat. 1196 ||
| Briggle | 1932–1958 |
| Poos | 1958–1973 |
| Wood, Jr. | 1973–1976 |
| Ackerman | 1976–1979 |
| Seat reassigned to Central District on March 31, 1979 by 93 Stat. 6 ||
Seat 3 :
| Seat reassigned from Eastern District on March 31, 1979 by 93 Stat. 6 ||||
| Foreman | 1979–1992 |
| Gilbert | 1992–2014 |
| Yandle | 2014–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on March 31, 1979 by 93 Stat. 6 ||||
| Beatty | 1979–1992 |
| Herndon | 1998–2019 |
| Dugan | 2020–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 ||||
| Stiehl | 1986–1996 |
| Murphy | 1998–2013 |
| Rosenstengel | 2014–present |
Seat 6 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 (temporary) ||
| Riley | 1994–2001 |
| Seat abolished on October 11, 2001 (temporary judgeship expired) ||
Seat 7 :
| Seat established on December 10, 1999 pursuant to 71 Stat. 586 (temporary) ||||
| Seat superseded Seat 6 on October 11, 2001 pursuant to 71 Stat. 586 ||||
| Seat made permanent on November 2, 2002 by 116 Stat. 1758 ||||
| Reagan | 2000–2019 |
| McGlynn | 2020–present |

## United States Attorneys for the Southern District of Illinois

The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Illinois is the federal prosecuting office for cases arising in 38 counties in Southern Illinois. The Office is headquartered in Fairview Heights and also has branch offices in Benton and East St. Louis.
* William E. Trautmann 1905-10
* Charles A. Karch 1914-1918?
* James G. Burnside 1918-22
* W. O. Potter 1922-26
* Harold G. Baker 1926-31
* Paul F. Jones 1931-35
* Arthur Roe 1935-42
* Henry Grady Vien 1942-43
* William W. Hart 1943-53
* Clifford M. Raemer 1953-57
* Carl W. Feickert 1957-65
* James R. Burgess, Jr.* (April 1979 – January 1982)
* Frederick J. Hess* (January 1982 – June 1993)
* Clifford J. Proud (June 1993 – November 1993)
* W. Charles Grace* (December 20, 1993 – January 30, 2002)
* Robert J. Cleary (January 30, 2002 – May 29, 2002)
* Laura J. Jones (May 30, 2002 – August 6, 2002)
* Miriam F. Miquelon* (August 7, 2002 – September 1, 2003)
* Richard E. Byrne (September 2, 2003 – November 15, 2003)
* Ronald J. Tenpas* (November 16, 2003 – November 20, 2005)
* Edward E. McNally (November 21, 2005 – March 11, 2006)
* Randy G. Massey (March 12, 2006 – November. 4, 2007)
* Courtney Cox (November 5, 2007 – August 26, 2010)
* Stephen R. Wigginton* (August 27, 2010 – December 11, 2015)
* James L. Porter (December 12, 2015 – July 7, 2016)
* Donald S. Boyce (July 8, 2016 – July 22, 2018)
* Steven D. Weinhoeft (July 23, 2018 – June 21, 2022)
* Rachelle Aud Crowe* (June 21, 2022 – February 18, 2025)
* Ali M. Summers (acting) (February 18, 2025-)
(*) Presidential appointment