Durbin on Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Federal Judicial Nominees in Central District
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which he is a member, has unanimously approved Sue Myerscough and James Shadid for federal judgeships on the U.S. District Court in the Central District of Illinois. Their nominations will now proceed to a vote by the full Senate.
“Justice Myerscough and Judge Shadid will each bring a great depth of experience and legal acumen to the federal judiciary,” said Durbin. “Three of the four district court judgeships in Central Illinois are vacant and have been for too long. I will work with my Senate colleagues to address this judicial emergency and bring these nominations up for a vote in the Senate as soon as possible.”
Justice Myerscough has served as a state appellate court judge on the Fourth District Appellate Court in Springfield since 1998. From 1987-1998, she was a state trial court judge on the Seventh Judicial Circuit in Springfield. She worked in private practice from 1981-1987, after serving as a judicial law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baker in the Central District of Illinois. She earned a BA and JD from Southern Illinois University, and she has been an adjunct professor at the SIU School of Medicine and a member of the SIU Law School board of visitors.
Judge Shadid has served as a state trial court judge in the Tenth Judicial Circuit in Peoria since 2001. He was a lawyer in private practice from 1983-2001, including part-time work as a Peoria County public defender and as a commissioner of the Court of Claims. He has been active in the community and served as president of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Peoria. Judge Shadid earned a BS from Bradley University, where he now serves as an adjunct professor, and a JD from John Marshall Law School.
Durbin established three bipartisan screening committees to assist in selecting Federal District Court Judges, U.S. Attorneys, and U.S. Marshals for Illinois. The screening committees were comprised of 22 distinguished Illinoisans drawn from various aspects of the legal profession and include former judges, prominent litigators, law professors, bar association leaders, former prosecutors and defenders. Springfield attorney James Potter serves as chair of the Central District of Illinois screening committee.
Members of the screening committees held meetings, reviewed applications and references, and conducted interviews. The screening committees recommended the names of several individuals for each vacancy. Durbin reviewed the screening committees’ recommendations, conducted interviews of finalists, and submitted his recommendations to the President, who makes the final decisions on nominees.