Press Release

NIU Law Alumna Appointed Associate Judge In 10th Judicial Circuit

December 14, 2009

DeKalb, Ill. -- NIU Law alumna Lisa Wilson (’87) is the latest to join the distinguished list of graduates who serve in the judiciary.  Out of about 3200 alumni, Wilson is the 67th to become a judge, making the ratio of alumni judges to alumni one of the highest among Illinois law schools.  Wilson was recently appointed associate judge for the state of Illinois 10th Judicial Circuit, which includes Peoria, Tazewell, Marshall, Stark and Putnam counties. 

Wilson, who was among twenty candidates for the judgeship, was selected by a majority of the circuit judges to fill the seat being vacated by a retiring judge.  According to Wilson, “I am very excited about this opportunity and am very sad to leave Prairie State Legal Services.”  Wilson had been the managing attorney at Prairie State Legal Services in Peoria since 1999.  She began in that office in May 1990 as a staff attorney.

Among her numerous rewarding accomplishments at Prairie State Legal Services is her most recent effort setting up Legal Self-Help Centers in the Tenth Judicial Circuit.  Wilson helped open the Circuit's first courthouse-based center in Peoria.  There are also plans in the works to open similar centers in Stark, Putnam, Marshall, and Tazewell Counties.  She has also done extraordinary work with child support, where her office helped to collect over $500,000 for clients in one year.  Because of her exemplary performance in the legal aid community, Wilson was named Illinois Legal Advocate for the month of March 2009.

"Lisa has devoted her professional life to a career in public interest, working to serve the legal needs of low income persons who would not otherwise have access to the judicial system.  Her many years of hard work, and her excellence as an attorney have been rightly rewarded with her appointment to the bench," remarked NIU Law Professor David Taylor, Presidential Teaching Professor and Director of Skills Training. Prior to joining the NIU Law faculty, Professor Taylor practiced for 10 years with Prairie State Legal Services, where he was a staff attorney and then deputy director of litigation.

Wilson will be sworn in on December 21, 2009 and will be assigned to Tazewell County’s traffic court.

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For more information, contact:
Melody Mitchell
Alumni Events & Public Relations
(815) 753-9655 or mmitchell@niu.edu