Ilana Rovner

Ilana Rovner

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (senior status)

Tenure

2024 - Present

Years in position

0

Prior offices

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Predecessor: Joel Flaum

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United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Successor: Nancy Maldonado

Predecessor: Harlington Wood

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Education

Bachelor's

Bryn Mawr College, 1960

Law

Chicago-Kent College of Law, 1966

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Ilana Kara Diamond Rovner is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. She joined the court in 1992 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush. Prior to her service on the Seventh Circuit, Judge Rovner was a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She assumed senior status on July 11, 2024.

Nancy Maldonado was nominated by President Joe Biden (D) to replace Rovner on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on February 27, 2024.

Education

Born in Riga, Latvia, Rovner graduated from Bryn Mawr College with her bachelor's degree in 1960, and from Chicago-Kent College of Law with her J.D. in 1966.

Professional career

• 1992-2024: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
  • 2024-present: Senior judge
  • 1984-1992: Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• 1977-1984: Deputy governor and legal counsel, Office of Governor James R. Thompson (R), Illinois
• 1973-1977: Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Illinois

• 1976-1977: Chief, Public Protection Unit, U.S. Attorney's Office
• 1975-1976: Deputy chief, Public Protection Unit, U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois

• 1972-1973: Law clerk, Hon. James B. Parsons, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• 1971: Legal researcher, Richard J. Phelan, Esq., Chicago, Ill.

Judicial nominations and appointments

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Ilana Diamond Rovner
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 41 days after nomination.
ANominated: July 2, 1992
AABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: August 4, 1992
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: August 12, 1992
AConfirmed: August 12, 1992
AVote: Unanimous consent

Rovner was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit by President George Bush on July 2, 1992, to a seat vacated by Judge Harlington Wood. The American Bar Association rated Rovner Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Rovner's nomination before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary were held on August 4, 1992, and her nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on August 12, 1992; Rovner's nomination was approved by unanimous consent in the U.S. Senate the same day. Rovner received her commission on August 17, 1992.

Northern District of Illinois

Rovner was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by President Ronald Reagan on June 19, 1984, to a seat vacated by Judge Joel Flaum. Hearings on Rovner's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 26, 1984, and Rovner's nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) on August 9, 1984. Rovner was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 12, 1984, by a voice vote; she received her commission the same day. She resigned from the court on August 17, 1992, upon her elevation to the Seventh Circuit. Rovner was succeeded in this position by David Coar.

Noteworthy cases

Three-judge panel upholds nationwide injuction against Department of Justice grant criteria aimed at sanctuary cities (2018)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

On April 19, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit upheld a nationwide injunction against grant requirements that would require localities to cooperate with federal immigration officials in specific ways. In the ruling by a three-judge panel, Judge Ilana Rovner wrote, "If the Executive Branch can determine policy, and then use the power of the purse to mandate compliance with that policy by the state and local governments, all without the authorization or even acquiescence of elected legislators, that check against tyranny is forsaken." This ruling keeps the September 2017 injunction in place originally established by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber while the City of Chicago's lawsuit proceeds in federal court.

Background

• On July 25, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that localities receiving Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants from the U.S. Department of Justice would need to meet new conditions to remain eligible for the grants. The grants provide federal funding to states and localities to be used for law enforcement and criminal justice purposes. On July 25th, 2017, the Department of Justice announced that jurisdictions wishing to receive JAG funds must comply with two new conditions: 1) must honor requests by federal immigration officials to receive 48-hour notice prior to releasing certain detainees, and 2) must allow federal immigration officials access to local jails and prisons in order to interrogate prisoners. Localities already were required to allow communication between local law enforcement and federal immigration officers to receive the grants.

• On August 7, 2017, the City of Chicago filed suit in an effort to prevent implementation of new criteria. The city contended that the new criteria were unconstitutional. In filing for a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the new grant criteria, the city argued that the government cannot deny JAG grants to the city as the grants were based on a statutory formula created by Congress, and that both the president and the Justice Department lacked the constitutional authority to alter Congress’ requirements for awarding the grants. Chicago expected to receive $3.2 million in JAG grants this year to purchase new police vehicles and equipment.

• On September 15, 2017, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber ordered a preliminary injunction to block the new criteria. In his ruling, Leinenweber said, "The court finds that the city has established that it would suffer irreparable harm if a preliminary injunction is not entered." The injunction applies nationwide because Leinenweber concluded that the issues presented by Chicago could also apply to other cities.

Three-judge panel upholds lower court ruling that Title VII doesn't apply to sexual orientation (2016)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, 3:14-cv-1791)

On August 15, 2014, Kimberly Hively, appearing as a pro se plaintiff, filed a two-count complaint against Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana (Ivy Tech) in federal court. Hively is openly lesbian. In her complaint, Hively alleged that she was denied full-time employment and promotions on the basis of her sexual orientation in violation of both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, which provide for equal rights under the law. On March 3, 2015, in an opinion by Judge Rudy Lozano, the court dismissed Hively's complaint. On appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-judge circuit panel affirmed Judge Lozano's decision in July of 2016. In an opinion for the panel, Judge Ilana Rovner wrote, "It seems unlikely that our society can continue to condone a legal structure in which employees can be fired, harassed, demeaned, singled out for undesirable tasks, paid lower wages, demoted, passed over for promotions, and otherwise discriminated against solely based on who they date, love, or marry. The agency tasked with enforcing Title VII does not condone it … many of the federal courts to consider the matter have stated that they do not condone it … and this court undoubtedly does not condone it … But writing on the wall is not enough. Until the writing comes in the form of a Supreme Court opinion or new legislation, we must adhere to the writing of our prior precedent." The panel was reversed in an en banc opinion of the Seventh Circuit in April of 2017.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

External links

• Federal Judicial Center, Judge Rovner's biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Harlington Wood	United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit 1992-2024	Succeeded by Nancy Maldonado
Preceded by Joel Flaum	United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 1984-1992	Succeeded by -