Michael P. McCuskey received a B.S. in Education from Illinois State University in 1970. While a student at the University, he was a member of the 1969 NCAA College Division baseball championship team. He previously served on the board of the Illinois State University Alumni Association and is currently a member of the Illinois State’s Attorney Advisory Council. The University honored Judge McCuskey in 2003 with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Following graduation from Illinois State, he taught history and coached baseball at Ottawa Township High School before entering law school. He graduated from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1975.
Judge McCuskey was a partner in the law firm of Pace, McCuskey and Galley in Lacon from 1975-88. He also served as Marshall County Public Defender from 1976 until 1988. In 1991, he received the Illinois Public Defender Association’s Award of Excellence and Meritorious Service.
Judge McCuskey was elected Circuit Judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit in 1988 and assigned to felony court in Peoria. He was elected to the Third District Appellate Court in 1990. He then served as an Illinois Appellate Court Judge until May 4, 1998, when he was sworn in as a United States District Judge for the Central District of Illinois. Judge McCuskey currently sits in the United States District Courthouse in Urbana. He became Chief Judge of the Central District of Illinois on December 14, 2004.
Judge McCuskey is very active in bar-related matters. He is past chair of the Illinois State Bar Association Civil Practice Section Council and Federal Civil Practice Section Council and previously served as a member of the Bench and Bar and General Practice Section Councils. He is currently a member of the ISBA Assembly and Criminal Justice Section Council. Judge McCuskey also serves on the board of directors for the Bar Association of the Central and Southern Federal Districts of Illinois.
(term expires January 2011)
