December 16, 2021

In Letter to President Biden, Duckworth, Durbin Announce Candidates for Federal District Court in the Northern District Of Illinois

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced seven candidates for President Biden’s consideration for current and future vacancies on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois: Jeffrey Cummings, Jeremy Daniel, Nicholas Gowen, LaShonda A. Hunt, Lindsay Jenkins, Nancy Maldonado, and Karen Sheley.

“We appreciate the opportunity to provide assistance and input in filling these vacancies, and we look forward to working with you to ensure a fair and swift confirmation process after you submit nominations to the Senate,” the Senators wrote in a letter to President Biden.

In October, the Senators’ announced that they would begin accepting applications from those interested in serving as a Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois.  The Senators were assisted by a screening committee whose task was to review and vet District Court candidates and advise the Senators regarding the candidates’ qualifications and fitness for the position. 

Full text of today’s letter is available here.

Biographies of each candidate are available below:

Jeffrey Cummings: Since 2019, Cummings has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.  He previously practiced at Miner, Barnhill & Galland P.C. from 1989-2019, where his practice focused on employment, civil rights, and whistleblower cases.  He also served as a Hearing Officer for the Chicago Police Board (2016-2019) and as an Administrative Hearing Officer for the Chicago Commission on Human Relations (1995-2019).   He received his B.A. from Michigan State and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, and he clerked for then-District Judge Ann Claire Williams.

Jeremy Daniel: Daniel has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois since 2014, including serving as a Deputy Chief in the Narcotics and Money Laundering Section since 2019.  He previously worked at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP (Katten) in Chicago from 2007-2013, where his practice focused on intellectual property matters.  He received his B.S. from Illinois Wesleyan University and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and he clerked for Judge Virginia Kendall of the Northern District of Illinois.  He served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2000-04 and as an enlisted Marine in the Marine Corps Reserve from 1997-2000.

Nicholas Gowen: Gowen has been a partner at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella P.C., in Chicago since 2016.  He previously practiced at Honigman LLP (2015-2016), Schopf & Weiss (2006-2015) and Winston & Strawn (2003-2006).  His practice focuses on litigating and arbitrating complex commercial and employment disputes.  He also has served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Chicago State University, and he is currently on the board of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation.  He received his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law. 

LaShonda A. Hunt: Hunt has served as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 2017.  Previously, she served as General Counsel for the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (2016); as Chief Legal Counsel for the Illinois Department of Corrections (2015-2016); as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois (2003-2005; 2010-2015); as an in-house attorney at Exelon (2007-2010); as the Schools Project Director for the Just the Beginning Foundation (2006-2007); as a staff attorney for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (1998-2001); and as an associate at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago (1995-1998).  She received her B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. from the University of Michigan, and she clerked for Judge Bill Hibbler of the Northern District of Illinois.  

Lindsay Jenkins: Jenkins currently is a partner at Cooley LLP in Chicago.  From 2006-2021, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois, serving in supervisory positions since 2011.  She served as the Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2019-2021, overseeing nearly 150 Assistant U.S. Attorneys.  Prior to working in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she worked as an associate at Jones Day in Cleveland.  She received her B.S. from Miami University of Ohio and her J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, and she clerked for Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. of the Northern District of Ohio. 

Nancy Maldonado: Maldonado has practiced at Miner, Barnhill & Galland P.C. since 2003, focusing on employment, fraud, and civil rights cases.  Since 2019 she also has served as a Board Member on the Illinois State Police Merit Board, and she has served since 2005 as a Board Member for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.  She received her A.B. from Harvard College and her J.D. from Columbia Law School, and she clerked for Judge Rubén Castillo of the Northern District of Illinois.

Karen Sheley:  Sheley currently serves as the general counsel of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.  From 2008-20, she worked at the ACLU of Illinois, including serving from 2016-20 as the director of the ACLU’s Police Practices Project.  She also practiced as an associate at Meites, Mulder, Mollica & Glink in Chicago from 2006-2008 and at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York from 2004-2005.  She received her B.A. from Northwestern University and her J.D. from Columbia Law School, and she clerked for Judge David G. Trager of the Eastern District of New York.

-30-