Illinois Supreme Court Names Neville as Chief

Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. has been elected by his colleagues to serve as the 123rd Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, beginning a three-year term on October 26, 2025. He will succeed Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, who has held the position since 2022 and will continue serving on the court as an associate justice.

Neville, 76, has sat on the Supreme Court since 2018, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Charles E. Freeman. He secured a ten-year elected term in 2020. Prior to his tenure on the Supreme Court, Justice Neville served as a Cook County circuit court judge and as an appellate court justice.

His legal career includes several noteworthy milestones. Neville was the first Black law clerk for a Cook County Appellate Court justice, began practicing in civil and appellate law, and in 1992 was part of the team that prosecuted Chicago’s “Ward Remap” case alongside R. Eugene Pincham and Barack Obama. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Culver-Stockton College and his Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law.

Justice Neville has expressed that public trust in the courts depends on making justice accessible, legal procedures comprehensible, and support services responsive to the needs of litigants. He has pledged to work toward making the Illinois courts a national model and to uphold the constitutional promise of equal justice—regardless of a person’s identity, location, or resources.

With his election, Neville becomes only the second Black Chief Justice in the state’s history, following Justice Charles E. Freeman, who served in that role from 1997 to 2000. As Chief Justice, Neville will oversee court administration across the state, supervise Supreme Court committee appointments, lead the Illinois Judicial Conference, and present the court’s annual budget to the General Assembly. An installation ceremony is scheduled for October 24 in Chicago.