04.03.14

Durbin: Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Yandle for Southern District Judgeship

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which he is a member, has approved Staci Yandle for a federal judgeship on the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Illinois.  Her nomination will now proceed to a vote by the full Senate. Upon confirmation, she will serve in the Benton Federal Courthouse. 

 

“Ms. Yandle’s nomination is not only historic, it is well deserved,” said Durbin.  “Our bipartisan screening committee chose Ms. Yandle based on her extensive trial experience, her commitment to her community and her record of professional integrity.  I look forward to voting in favor of her nomination on the floor of the Senate soon.” 

 

Ms. Yandle has owned her own practice, the Law Offices of Staci M. Yandle, in O’Fallon since 2007.  Previously she worked for four years at The Rex Carr Law Firm and for 16 years at the law firm Carr, Korein, Tillery.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Bar Foundation, and she also taught for nearly a decade as an adjunct professor at the St. Louis University Law School.  She is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Vanderbilt University School of Law.  Ms. Yandle lives in Carlyle. 

 

In April of last year, Durbin established a bipartisan screening committee to assist in selecting Federal District Court Judges for Southern Illinois.  Durbin’s screening committee was comprised of comprised of 6 distinguished Illinoisans drawn from various aspects of the legal profession.  The committee was co-chaired by Lois Wood, Executive Director of the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, and the Honorable George W. Timberlake (ret.), former chief judge of the Illinois Second Judicial Circuit.

 

The screening committee reviewed the applications, interviewed applicants and references, and recommended the names of several individuals to Durbin.   Durbin reviewed the screening committee’s recommendations, conducted interviews of the finalists, and – in consultation with U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) – submitted the screening committee’s recommendations to the President, who makes the final decisions on nominees.