United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois (in case citations, E.D. Ill.) is a former federal district court for the state of Illinois. The court was established on March 3, 1905, by 33 Stat. 992.^[1] The Northern and Southern Districts had been established on February 13, 1855. The statute establishing the Eastern District specified the counties to be included in that District as follows:

Kankakee, Iroquois, Ford, Vermilion, Champaign, Piatt, Moultrie, Douglas, Edgar, Shelby, Coles, Clark, Cumberland, Effingham, Fayette, Marion, Clay, Jasper, Crawford, Lawrence, Richland, Clinton, Saint Clair, Washington, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, White, Hamilton, Franklin, Perry, Randolph, Monroe, Gallatin, Saline, Williamson, Jackson, Hardin, Pope, Johnson, Union, Alexander, Pulaski, and Massac.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois
(E.D. Ill.)
Defunct
Map indicating the changing Districts of Illinois
Location	Melvin Price Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (East St. Louis) More locations Danville Cairo Benton
Appeals to	Seventh Circuit
Established	March 3, 1905
Abolished	March 31, 1979

On October 2, 1978, Illinois was reorganized into the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts, with thirteen judgeships authorized for the Northern District, two for the Central District, and two for the Southern District.^[2]

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Francis Marion Wright	IL	1844–1917	1905–1917	—	—	T. Roosevelt	death
2	George W. English	IL	1866–1941	1918–1926	—	—	Wilson	resignation
3	Walter C. Lindley	IL	1880–1958	1922–1949	—	—	Harding	elevation to 7th Cir.
4	Fred Louis Wham	IL	1884–1967	1927–1956	1949–1956	1956–1967	Coolidge	death
5	Casper Platt	IL	1892–1965	1949–1965	1956–1965	—	Truman	death
6	William George Juergens	IL	1904–1988	1956–1972	1965–1972	1972–1979	Eisenhower	reassignment to S.D. Ill.
7	Henry Seiler Wise	IL	1909–1982	1966–1978	1972–1978	1978–1979	L. Johnson	reassignment to C.D. Ill.
8	James L. Foreman	IL	1927–2012	1972–1979	1978–1979	—	Nixon	reassignment to S.D. Ill.
9	Harold Baker	IL	1929–2023	1978–1979	—	—	Carter	reassignment to C.D. Ill.

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Wham	1949–1956
Platt	1956–1965
Juergens	1965–1972
Wise	1972–1978
Foreman	1978–1979
Abolished on March 31, 1979 by 92 Stat. 883

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 March 3, 1905 by 33 Stat. 992 Wright 1905–1917 English 1918–1926 Wham 1927–1956 Juergens 1956–1972 Foreman 1972–1979 Seat reassigned to Southern District on March 31, 1979 by 93 Stat. 6

Seat 2 Seat established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837 Lindley 1922–1949 Platt 1949–1965 Wise 1966–1978 Baker 1978–1979 Seat reassigned to Central District on March 31, 1979 by 93 Stat. 6

See also

• Courts of Illinois
• List of United States federal courthouses in Illinois

References

1. U.S. District Courts of Illinois, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
2. Federal District Court Organization Act of 1978 92 Stat. 883