P. Scott Neville Jr. chosen as next chief justice on Illinois Supreme
Court
[September 10, 2025]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday that Justice
P. Scott Neville Jr. has been chosen to be the state’s 123rd chief
justice, succeeding Mary Jane Theis, whose three-year term as head of
the court expires Oct. 26.
Theis, who was named chief justice in 2022, will remain on the court as
an associate justice.
Neville, 76, has served on the court since 2018 when he was appointed to
fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Charles Freeman. He
was elected to a 10-year term in 2020. He previously served as an
appellate court justice and as a Cook County circuit court judge.
According to a release from the court, Neville began his legal career as
the first Black law clerk for a Cook County appellate justice. Later, he
practiced civil law and appellate law, which included helping prosecute
a lawsuit over the 1992 redistricting of Chicago’s 50 wards.
Neville received a bachelor of arts degree from Culver-Stockton College
in Canton, Missouri, and a juris doctorate from Washington University
School of Law in St. Louis.
In a statement, Neville said public trust in the courts “requires
justice that is accessible, procedures that are understandable, and
support services that meet the needs of litigants.”
“I will always work to make the Illinois courts a national model,
safeguarding the constitutional promise of equal justice without regard
to who a person is, where they live, or what resources they have so all
litigants are seen and heard,” he said.
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Justice P. Scott Neville is pictured during the 2022 swearing-in
ceremony of Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis. (Capitol News Illinois
photo by Jerry Nowicki)
The Illinois Supreme Court is composed of seven justices who are elected
by districts in partisan races. Under the Illinois Constitution, three
justices are chosen from Cook County and the other four are elected from
downstate in districts that are drawn by the General Assembly and are
supposed to be roughly equal in population.
The justices elect a chief justice to a three-year term from within
their own ranks. The post typically goes to the most senior justice who
has not already served a term as chief justice.
Neville will become the state’s second Black chief justice after
Freeman, who held the post from 1997 to 2000.
The chief justice’s duties include overseeing the administration of
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.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick
Foundation. |
