Joe McDade

Joe McDade

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Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (senior status)

Tenure

2010 - Present

Years in position

14

Prior offices

United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois

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Education

Bachelor's

Bradley University, 1959

Graduate

Bradley University, 1960

Law

University of Michigan Law School, 1963

Personal

Birthplace

Bellville, Texas

Contact

Official website

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Joe Billy McDade is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. He joined the court in 1991 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush. McDade assumed senior status on March 1, 2010.

Education

Born in Bellville, Texas, McDade received his B.S. from Bradley University in 1959, as well as his M.S. in 1960. McDade graduated from the University of Michigan Law School with a J.D. in 1963.

Professional career

• 1988-1991: Judge, Illinois Tenth Judicial Circuit Court
• 1982-1988: Associate judge, Illinois Tenth Judicial Circuit Court
• 1968-1982: Attorney in private practice, Illinois
• 1965-1968: Executive director, Greater Peoria Legal Aid Society, Illinois
• 1965: Executive trainee, First Federal Savings and Loan Association, Illinois
• 1963-1965: Staff attorney, Antitrust Division, United States Department of Justice, Chicago, Illinois

Judicial career

Central District of Illinois

On the recommendation of Congressman Henry Hyde, McDade was nominated to the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois by President George H.W. Bush on September 11, 1991, to a new judgeship created by 104 Stat. 5089, which was approved by Congress. McDade was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 21, 1991, on a Senate vote and received commission on November 25, 1991. McDade served as the court's chief judge from 1998 to 2004. He assumed senior status on March 1, 2010.

Noteworthy cases

Former state judge sentenced after drug scandal (2014)

In March 2014, Judge McDade sentenced Michael N. Cook, formerly of the Illinois Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court, to two years in prison. Cook faced charges relating to his possession of heroin and a firearm, and resigned from the bench shortly after he was implicated in the cocaine-related death of Twentieth Circuit Court Judge Joseph Christ in Cook's hunting lodge. In February 2014, Judge McDade rejected the terms of an earlier plea deal for Cook as insufficient.

Articles:

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Judge rejects plea deal for former St. Clair County judge in drug case," February 26, 2014
• Associated Press, "Ex-Illinois judge gets 2-year term in drug scandal," March 28, 2014

Judge allows cameras in his courtroom (2009)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (In Re Complaint Against District Judge Joe Billy McDade, 07-09-90083)

Judge McDade was involved in a controversy and faced the possibility of being charged with violations of federal rules and a Seventh Circuit resolution for an incident in which he allowed cameras into his courtroom. The judge allowed cameras to document a hearing involving a proposal for extension of a settlement which forced the Champaign, Illinois, school district to reduce the achievement gap between white and black students. On September 15, 2009, Judge McDade allowed media members to bring television cameras, audio equipment, and a still camera into the hearing because he said it should reach as wide an audience as possible. A complaint against him was filed with the Seventh Circuit. McDade apologized and admitted his actions were in violation of the district court's rule; he later wrote a formal letter of apology to the Seventh Circuit. Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook accepted McDade's apology and dismissed the complaint, deciding that no further action was necessary.
Judge McDade's letter of apology may be found here.

See also

• United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois

External links

• Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Joe Billy McDade"

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by: NA-New Seat	Central District of Illinois 1991–2010 Seat #4T	Succeeded by: Sara Lynn Darrow