McCuskey goes from federal bench to rural Illinois judge

Posted on January 6, 2015

Michael McCuskey retired as ISU Board of Trustee Chairman last year. (WJBC file photo)

By The Associated Press

LACON –  Former Illinois State University Board of Trustees chairman Michael McCuskey is back behind the bench.

The 66-year-old ex-federal judge from Lacon has taken the uncommon late-career turn of becoming a rural judge.  
 
McCuskey spent a quarter century on appellate and federal benches, often hearing weighty and complex issues. Monday he was to begin hearing a range of cases, including traffic violations.  

The Peoria Journal Star reports McCuskey will preside in Marshall County most of each week, with a day each in Putnam and Stark counties.  

McCuskey says he welcomes the more intimate judicial work in smaller counties. And 10th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Stephen Kouri says it's the first time the district's newest judge "instantly" became its "most experienced."
 
McCuskey was on the 3rd District Appellate Court in the early 1990s. He later spent 16 years in the U.S. District Court based in Champaign.

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