US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

28 U.S.C. § 93

Illinois

Illinois is divided into three judicial districts to be known as the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois.

Northern District

(a) The Northern District comprises two divisions.

(1) The Eastern Division comprises the counties of Cook, Du Page, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, La Salle, and Will.

Court for the Eastern Division shall be held at Chicago and Wheaton.

(2) The Western Division comprises the counties of Boone, Carroll, De Kalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago.

Court for the Western Division shall be held at Freeport and Rockford.

Central District

(b) The Central District comprises the counties of Adams, Brown, Bureau, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Coles, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Kankakee, Knox, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McLean, Macoupin, Macon, Marshall, Mason, Menard, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Vermilion, Warren, and Woodford.

Court for the Central District shall be held at Champaign/Urbana, Danville, Peoria, Quincy, Rock Island, and Springfield.

Southern District

(c) The Southern District comprises the counties of Alexander, Bond, Calhoun, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Cumberland, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, St. Clair, Saline, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, and Williamson.

Court for the Southern District shall be held at Alton, Benton, Cairo, and East Saint Louis.

June 25, 1948, ch. 64662 Stat. 878Aug. 10, 1950, ch. 675, § 164 Stat. 438Pub. L. 87–36, § 3(c)75 Stat. 83Pub. L. 91–272, § 884 Stat. 297Pub. L. 95–408, § 4(b)(1)92 Stat. 884Pub. L. 95–573, § 192 Stat. 2458Pub. L. 98–620, title IV, § 406(a)98 Stat. 3361Pub. L. 106–130, § 2113 Stat. 1677(, ; , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , (c), , ; , , .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, § 7936 Stat. 1110Aug. 12, 1937, ch. 59450 Stat. 624June 6, 1940, ch. 24754 Stat. 237Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 152 (, ; , ; , ).

Provisions relating to appointment of deputy marshals and maintenance of offices by deputy marshals and deputy clerks were omitted as covered by sections 452, 541 [see 561], 542 [see 561], and 751 of this title.

Changes in arrangement and phraseology were made.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 106–1301999—Subsec. (a)(1). inserted “and Wheaton” before period at end.

Pub. L. 98–620, § 406(a)(1)1984—Subsec. (a)(1). , struck out De Kalb and McHenry from the counties comprising the Eastern Division of the Northern District.

Pub. L. 98–620, § 406(a)(2)Subsec. (a)(2). , added De Kalb and McHenry to the counties comprising the Western Division of the Northern District.

Pub. L. 98–620, § 406(c)Subsec. (b). , provided for holding court at Champaign/Urbana.

Pub. L. 95–4081978— substituted in introductory provisions “Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois” for “Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of Illinois”.

Pub. L. 95–573, § 1(1)Subsec. (a)(1). , struck out Kankakee from the counties comprising the Eastern Division of the Northern District.

Pub. L. 95–408 added Kankakee to the counties comprising the Eastern Division of the Northern District.

Pub. L. 95–573, § 1(2)Subsec. (b). , added Kankakee to the counties comprising the Central District.

Pub. L. 95–408 substituted “Central District” for “Southern District” in heading, struck out subsec. (b)(1) and (2) designations, which divided Southern District into a Northern and Southern Division, and in such newly created Central District, added counties of Champaign, Coles, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby, and Vermilion to, and struck out counties of Bond, Calhoun, Jersey, and Madison from, those counties comprising the new Central District, and substituted provisions for holding of a term of Court for Central District at Danville, Peoria, Quincy, Rock Island, and Springfield for provisions for holding of a term of Court for Northern Division of the former Southern District at Peoria and Rock Island and for Southern Division of former Southern District at Alton, Quincy, and Springfield.

Pub. L. 95–408Subsec. (c). substituted “Southern District” for “Eastern District” in heading, and in such Southern District added counties of Bond, Calhoun, Jersey, and Madison to, and struck out counties of Champaign, Coles, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby and Vermilion from, those counties comprising Southern District, and substituted provisions for holding of a term of Court for Southern District at Alton, Benton, Cairo, and East Saint Louis for provisions for holding of a term of Court for Eastern District at Benton, Cairo, Danville, and East Saint Louis.

Pub. L. 91–2721970—Subsec. (a)(2). provided for holding court at Rockford.

Pub. L. 87–361961—Subsec. (b)(2). provided for holding court at Alton.

1950—Subsec. (b)(1). Act , provided for holding court at Rock Island.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

Pub. L. 98–620, title IV, § 406(b)98 Stat. 3361

“The amendments made by subsection (a) of this section [amending this section] shall apply to any action commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on or after the effective date of this subtitle [], and shall not affect any action pending in such court on such effective date.”
, , , provided that:

Pub. L. 98–620section 411 of Pub. L. 98–620section 85 of this titleAmendment by effective , and not to affect the composition, or preclude the service, of any grand or petit jury summoned, impaneled, or actually serving on that date, see , set out as a note under .

Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

Pub. L. 95–573, § 692 Stat. 2458Pub. L. 96–4, § 293 Stat. 7

“(a)
section 84 of this title Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the provisions of this Act [amending this section and sections 99, 112, and 118 of this title and enacting a provision set out as a note under ] shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [].
“(b)
(1)
section 84 of this title The provisions of section 5 of this Act [set out as a note under ] shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act [].
“(2)
The provisions of the first section of this Act [amending this section] shall take effect on .
“(c)
section 84 of this title Nothing in this Act [amending this section and sections 99, 112, and 118 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under ] shall affect the composition or preclude the service of any grand or petit juror summoned, empaneled, or actually serving in any judicial district on the effective date of this Act.”
, , , as amended by , , , provided that:

Effective Date of 1978 Amendment; Savings Provision

Pub. L. 95–408section 5 of Pub. L. 95–408section 89 of this titleAmendment by effective 180 days after , with such amendment not to affect the composition or preclude the service of any grand or petit juror summoned, empaneled, or actually serving in any judicial district on the effective date of this Act, see , set out as a note under .

District Judges, United States Attorneys, Assistant United States Attorneys, and United States Marshals for Central and Southern Districts; Designation; Tenure; Appointment; Grand Jury

Pub. L. 95–408, § 4(b)(2)Pub. L. 96–4, § 193 Stat. 6

“(2)
The district judge for the Eastern District of Illinois in office on the effective date of this Act [180 days after ] who is senior in commission shall, on and after the effective date of this Act, be a district judge for the Southern District of Illinois. The remaining district judge for the Eastern District of Illinois who is in office on the effective date of this Act and the district judges for the Southern District of Illinois who are in office on the effective date of this Act shall, on and after the effective date of this Act, be district judges for the Central District of Illinois. The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a second district judge for the Southern District of Illinois.
“(3)
This section does not in any manner affect the tenure of the United States attorney, the assistant United States attorneys, or the United States marshal for the Eastern District of Illinois or for the Southern District of Illinois who are in office on the effective date of this Act [180 days after ]. The United States attorney, the assistant United States attorneys, and the United States marshal for the Eastern District and for the Southern District of Illinois shall, on the effective date of this Act, become the United States attorney, the assistant United States attorneys, and the United States marshal for the Southern District and for the Central District of Illinois, respectively.
“(4)
section 3240 of title 18 Notwithstanding , United States Code, any grand jury impaneled on or after the effective date of this Act [180 days after ] by a district court for the Central District or the Southern District of Illinois may inquire into and return indictments charging offenses against the criminal laws of the United States alleged to have been committed anywhere within the territory of the respective judicial districts as such districts were constituted before or after the effective date of this Act.”
–(4), as added by , , , provided that: