The Illinois Supreme Court has selected Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. as the 123rd Chief Justice.
According to a release from the Illinois Supreme Court, Neville’s three-year term begins on October 26, succeeding Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, who has led the Court since 2022.
Neville received his Bachelor of Arts at Culver-Stockton College and his juris doctorate at the Washington University School of Law. Neville began his legal career as a law clerk for a Cook County Appellate Justice. According to the release:
He practiced civil rights and appellate law, and prosecuted the historic 1992 Chicago Ward “Re-Map” case with two well-known attorneys, former Appellate Court Justice R. Eugene Pincham and former President Barack Obama. Chief Justice Neville became a Cook County Circuit Court Judge in 1999, an Appellate Court Justice in 2004, and an Illinois Supreme Court justice in 2018, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Freeman.
As Chief Justice his duties include overseeing the administration of the Illinois courts and more than 900 judges, supervising appointments to Supreme Court committees, leading the Illinois Judicial Conference, and presenting the Court’s annual budget to the General Assembly. An installation ceremony marking Justice Neville’s selection as Chief Justice will take place on October 24 in Chicago.
Neville will be the second Black Chief Justice in Illinois history. The late Justice Charles E. Freeman was the first, serving from 1997-1999.
Neville and his wife, Sharon, live in Chicago and have two adult stepdaughters.