Michael Patrick McCuskey (born June 30, 1948) is the Illinois Legislative Inspector General since his appointment on February 17, 2022. He has served as a state circuit and appellate judge, and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (in case citations, C.D. Ill.) serves the residents of forty-six counties, which are divided into four divisions. The counties are: Adams, Brown, Bureau, Cass, Champaign, C ...

Education and legal career

In 1966, McCuskey graduated in a class of 16 students at Sparland High School,Sparland High School was consolidated into the current Midland High School. Sparland,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He was recruited to

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

in 1966 by baseball coach Duffy Bass, who told McCuskey about the new

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

department starting at ISU that autumn. While at ISU, he was a member of the 1969 baseball team that played in the

NCAA College Division The NCAA College Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at a lower level of college sports. The NCAA initially divided schools into a College Division and a ...

championships; a sore arm ended his pitching career. McCuskey received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

in 1970 as part the first class to graduate from ISU's Political Science department. Following graduation, he was a baseball coach and history teacher at

Ottawa Township High School Ottawa Township High School, or Ottawa High School, is a high school located at 211 East Main Street in Ottawa, IL. Buildings The school comprises three buildings, each with three stories. The main building is the first building seen upon appr ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Illinois for two years, then entered the

Saint Louis University School of Law The Saint Louis University School of Law (also known as SLU Law) is the law school affiliated with Saint Louis University, a private Jesuit research university in Saint Louis, Missouri. The school has been American Bar Association approved sin ...

, where he received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1975. He was in private practice as a partner in the law firm of Pace, McCuskey and Galley in

Lacon Lacon can refer to: ;People: * Demetrius Lacon (late 2nd century BC), Greek philosopher * Lacon family, a Sardinian dynasty * Lacon baronets, of the English baronetcy * William Lacon (ca. 1540–1609), English politician * Roland Lacon (ca. 1537� ...

, Illinois from 1975 to 1988, and was also the chief

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

of Marshall County, Illinois, from 1976 to 1988.

Judicial career

State judicial service

He was elected an Illinois state circuit court judge on the Tenth Judicial Circuit from 1988 to 1990, where he sat in felony court at Peoria. When two new seats were created on the

Illinois Appellate Court The Illinois Appellate Court is the court of first appeal for civil and criminal cases rising in the Illinois circuit courts. In Illinois, litigants generally have a right to first appeal from final decisions or judgements of the circuit court ...

, he chose to run for one of the newly created seats. In the 1990 general election, McCuskey defeated Republican candidate William Holdridge. Robert A. Barnes Jr. was appointed by the

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the judiciary of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the fiv ...

to succeed him in the 10th circuit effective January 3, 1991. McCuskey served as a judge on the Illinois Appellate Court from 1990 to 1998. In 1993, he was selected its presiding judge. In 1991, he received the Illinois Public Defender Association's Award of Excellence and Meritorious Service. While an appellate court judge, McCuskey was appointed to the Administrative Committee, replacing

Tobias Barry Tobias G. Barry, Jr. (April 12, 1924 – April 4, 2017) was an American politician in the state of Illinois. Early life Barry was born in Chicago on April 12, 1924, to Tobias Barry Sr. who represented the area in the Illinois House of Representa ...

, who had served as committee chairman. After his confirmation to the federal bench by the U.S. Senate, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed former state legislator

Judy Koehler Judy Koehler (born September 20, 1941) is an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois Appellate Court Justice. Illinois House of Representatives ...

to the vacancy.

Federal judicial service

He was nominated for the

by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

on July 31, 1997, to a seat vacated by Harold Baker. McCuskey and G. Patrick Murphy's respective nominations were held by

Phil Gramm William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of United States Congress, Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Gr ...

in retaliation for

Carol Moseley Braun Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun (born August 16, 1947), is an American diplomat, politician, and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. Moseley Braun was the first African-Ameri ...

blocking Gramm's preferred nominee to the

Commodity Futures Trading Commission The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures contract, fut ...

until the intervention of

George Ryan George Homer Ryan (February 24, 1934 – May 2, 2025) was an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Secretary of State of Illinois from 1991 ...

. McCuskey was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on April 2, 1998, and received his commission on April 3, 1998. He served as

chief judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

of the district from December 14, 2004Illinois State University's Trustee biography says that McCuskey's chief judge term started on December 14, 2004; Greyheart says only December 2004; the Federal Judicial Center biography says only 2004; Kravetz in the ''Peoria Journal Star'' says "since 2005". to March 12, 2012, when he swore in successor James E. Shadid. McCuskey took senior status on June 30, 2013, and retired from the bench on May 31, 2014.

Return to state judicial service

He was appointed to the Illinois Tenth Judicial Circuit, his original seat, taking office on June 3, 2014, to complete the term of the retiring Kevin Galley. McCuskey took up his seat in Marshall County, and stated his intention to run for election in November 2016. In 2016, McCuskey was elected to the vacancy unopposed. He stepped down as a judge in 2020 The

appointed Paul Bauer as McCuskey's successor as the resident circuit judge of Marshall County.

ISU Board of Trustees

Governor

Rod Blagojevich Rod R. Blagojevich ( ; born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked ...

appointed McCuskey a member of the

Board of Trustees for a term commencing September 29, 2005 and ending January 17, 2011. McCuskey was confirmed by the Illinois Senate in a unanimous vote on November 3, 2005. In 2011, Governor Pat Quinn reappointed McCuskey to the ISU Board of Trustees for a term from 2011 to 2017. Upon reassuming a circuit court judgeship in 2014, he stepped down from the ISU Board of Trustees and was replaced by Robert Dobski.

Illinois Legislative Inspector General

On July 14, 2021, Carol M. Pope announced her intent to resign as the Legislative Inspector General effective January 31, 2022. The Illinois Senate voted in favor of McCuskey's nomination on February 16, 2022, and the Illinois House voted in favor of his nomination the next day. McCuskey was appointed to complete the remainder of Pope's term. On May 9, 2023, the Illinois General Assembly voted to appoint McCuskey to a five-year term as the Legislative Inspector General to start June 30, 2023 and end June 30, 2028.

Personal

His wife, Barbara Huber McCuskey, graduated from

in 1987; as of 2006, they had one son and lived in Urbana, and lived in

Notes

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCuskey, Michael Patrick 1948 births Living people Illinois State University alumni American criminal defense lawyers Judges of the Illinois Appellate Court Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois People from Marshall County, Illinois Lawyers from Peoria, Illinois People from Urbana, Illinois Public defenders Saint Louis University School of Law alumni United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton 20th-century Illinois state court judges