Steve Pacey

Background

About Steve Pacey

Hon. Stephen R. Pacey graduated from the University of Illinois in 1970, was a Legislative Staff Intern with the General Assembly in Springfield for 1 year, returned to the U. of I. Law School in 1971, graduated and was admitted to the bar in 1974. In private general practice in Paxton, IL for 22 years, including 5 years as the Ford County Public Defender and 2 years as a Commissioner of the Illinois Court of Claims, he became a Circuit Judge in 1996. As the only judge regularly sitting in Ford County, he was the presiding judge of all divisions. He has been a member of the Illinois State Bar Association since 1974 and was a member of its Assembly from 1994 to and from 2004-18. He served on its Board of Governors from 2007-13 and was Treasurer of the association for the 2012-13 fiscal year. He has been a member of the Illinois Judges Association since 1996 and has served 2 terms on its Board of Directors. He has been a presenter, on a variety of topics, for Illinois Judicial Conference seminars, ISBA and IICLE programs, as well as the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice. In addition to having heard cases in all five counties of the 11th Judicial Circuit, he was assigned by the Illinois Supreme Court to hear cases in the 5th, 21st and Cook County Circuit Courts. He retired from the bench December 31, 2013. He was inducted into the Samuel K. Gove Illinois Legislative Internship Hall of Fame in 2009. He was the recipient of the Livingston County Judiciary "Beating a Dead Horse Award" for 2013. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Resolutions Systems Institute from 2013-19. From 8/2014 to 5/2017, he was an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at the University of Illinois Law School. Since 3/1/17, he has been an attorney member of the Hearing Board of the ARDC. In retirement, he has served as a Special Prosecutor, Successor Trustee and partition Commissioner by Court appointments and as a mediator at the request of private attorneys.