Chief Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr.
Chief Justice, Illinois Supreme Court
Justice Neville was sworn in on June 15, 2018 as the 117th, and the second African American Justice, to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court in its 200-year history. He was elected to the Supreme Court in November 2020.
Justice Neville’s fifty-two year legal career has taken him from 43rd Street in Bronzeville to LaSalle Street in Chicago’s business district. A product of Chicago's public schools, he is a graduate from Culver Stockton College and Washington University's School of Law. Justice Neville has been actively practicing law since 1974 when he became a law clerk for Justice Glenn T. Johnson of the Illinois Appellate Court.
Throughout his legal career, Justice Neville worked with public and private entities, including the Chicago Transit Authority. From 1977 until 1979, he was Of Counsel at Howard, Mann & Slaughter. In 1979, he became a principal with the law firm of Neville & Ward. In 1981, Neville established P. Scott Neville, Jr. & Associates, which merged with Howse, Howse, Neville & Gray in 1990. He has also been an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School in its Intensive Trial Practice Workshop.
Justice Neville used his legal skills to pursue justice on behalf of his clients. In 1992, he served on a legal team, including then-attorney Barack Obama, that successfully prosecuted the Chicago Ward Remap case. Justice Neville served on the legal team that advised the African American, Hispanic and Republican legislators on the subcircuit legislation that created the judicial districts in Cook County, and throughout expanding diversity on the bench.
An active member of many bar associations, Justice Neville is a life member of the National Bar Association and a member of the Cook County Bar Association (CCBA) and Illinois State (ISBA) bar associations. Neville's commitment to the Bar was most evident in 1997 when he became President of the CCBA and co-founded the Alliance of Bar Associations, a group dedicated to promoting diversity, equality and fairness in judicial evaluations. Justice Neville has also been a member of several judicial organizations. He is a past chairperson and board member of the Illinois Judicial Council, a member of the National Bar Association's Judicial Council, and a member of the Illinois Judges Association.
Justice Neville has received numerous awards and appointments in recognition of his service and leadership. In 1999, the Chicago Bar Association presented him with the prestigious Vanguard Award, and he also received a Presidential Award from the ISBA. In 2007, Washington University School of Law honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award, followed by an award from Toastmasters International in 2008. In 2017, he received the Stradford Award from Cook County State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx, and in 2020 he was named Judge of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Justice Neville was appointed to the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1999 and elected to that court in 2000. On June 11, 2004, he was appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court and was later elected to the Appellate Court in 2012. From September 1, 2013, through August 31, 2014, Justice Neville served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the Illinois Appellate Court, First District. In November 2020, Justice Neville won election to a 10-year term on the Illinois Supreme Court, prevailing in a contested race against five appellate court justices and one attorney. He made history on October 24, 2025, when he became the 2nd African American Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. Justice Neville is married to Sharon J. Neville and has two adult stepdaughters.
