Virginia Kendall
2006 - Present
19
Virginia Mary Kendall is the chief judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, one of the busiest federal courts in the nation. She joined the court in 2006 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.
Early life and education
A Chicago native, Kendall graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, with her bachelor's and Master's degrees in 1984 and 1987. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1992.[1]
Professional career
- 2006 - Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- 2024 - Present: Chief judge
- 1995-present: Adjunct professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
- 1995-2005: Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois
- 1992-1995: Law clerk, Judge George Marovich, Northern District of Illinois[1]
Pathways to the bench
Judge Kendall was featured in the U.S. Courts "Pathways to the Bench" education program.
Judicial career
Northern District of Illinois
Kendall was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by George W. Bush on September 28, 2005, to a seat vacated by Suzanne Conlon. Kendall was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 21, 2005, on a Senate vote and received commission on January 3, 2006. She became chief judge of the court in 2024.[1][2]
Noteworthy cases
Union challenge to Wisconsin's labor law defeated in court (2014)
On April 18, 2014, a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit, composed of Judges Joel Flaum, Ilana Rovner, and Judge Kendall of the Northern District of Illinois sitting by designation, ruled that Wisconsin's Act 10, a law enacted in 2011 that barred government employers from collectively bargaining with employees' unions over anything save for wages, was constitutionally sound, upholding a lower court opinion from the Western District of Wisconsin.[3]
In the underlying case, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 60 and Laborers Local 236 brought suit against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, alleging violations of their constitutionally protected First Amendment right to the freedom of association, as well as their right to petition the government for redress of grievances. The plaintiffs further alleged violations of their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the laws. Prior to the plaintiffs' appeal, Judge William Conley rebuffed their claims, stating that as public employees of the state, they "remain[ed] free to associate and their unions remain[ed] free to speak; municipal employers are simply not allowed to listen."[3]
In an opinion written by Judge Flaum, the Seventh Circuit affirmed Judge Conley's ruling, commenting that "the line between constitutionality and unconstitutionally is not drawn according to how open a state decisionmaker is to what you have to say."[3]
See also
External links
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, "Judge Virginia M. Kendall," accessed April 29, 2014
- Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Virginia Mary Kendall"
- Public Citizen, "Houlihan Smith’s Phony Invocation of Trademark Law Fails to Keep Criticism off the Web," May 10, 2010
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 2006-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
 |
State of Illinois Springfield (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
