George Wakem Lindberg (June 21, 1932 – March 19, 2019) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Early life

Born in Crystal Lake, Illinois, Lindberg received his Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University in 1954 and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from Northwestern University School of Law in 1957.

Legal and political career

Lindberg was the vice president and legal counsel for John E. Reid and Associates in Chicago from 1955 to 1968, becoming an expert in financial fraud investigations. In 1966, Lindberg was elected to the first of three terms in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

, serving until 1972. During his tenure in the General Assembly, Lindberg was a private practice attorney in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake in McHenry County from 1968 until 1973. While in the state legislature, he was the architect of the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. His proposed legislation provided for campaign disclosures, but these provisions did not make the final bill passed by the General Assembly. Lindberg also served as chair of a special Illinois House committee investigating judicial misconduct, which resulted in the resignation of two

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

justices. In 1972, Lindberg won election as the

Comptroller of Illinois The Comptroller of Illinois is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Ten individuals have held the office of Comptroller since the enactment of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, replacing t ...

and served until 1977. Lindberg's voluntary disclosure of personal political spending from his 1972 campaign—something he did every year as comptroller—was a first for an Illinois statewide-officeholder, and drew widespread praise. He was defeated for re-election in 1976 by Democrat

Michael Bakalis Michael J. Bakalis (born March 23, 1938) is an American academic and politician. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Illinois in 1978, losing to incumbent Republican Governor James R. Thompson. Bakalis received his bachelor's, master ...

. After completing his term as comptroller, Lindberg was appointed Deputy State Attorney General for the state of Illinois, and served from 1977 to 1978 before winning election in 1978 as a judge in the Illinois Appellate Court representing the Second Judicial (Elgin) District. Ten years later, he was retained for a second ten-year term with 78% of the vote. He served on the appellate court until his appointment to the Federal Bench in 1989.

Election history

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Federal judicial service

On the recommendation of Congressman Henry Hyde, Lindberg was nominated by President

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on September 21, 1989, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated by Prentice Marshall. Lindberg was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 3, 1989, and received his commission on November 6, 1989. Lindberg assumed senior status on June 21, 2001 and assumed inactive senior status on December 31, 2012. He remained on senior status until his death on March 19, 2019.

Notable clerks

Kathleen Zellner, noted for exonerating convicted prisoners, clerked for the judge.

Notes

Sources

*
Illinois Comptroller web site - History of the Office - Lindberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindberg, George Wakem 1932 births 2019 deaths Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Comptrollers of Illinois Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush 20th-century American judges Northwestern University alumni Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Judges of the Illinois Appellate Court Illinois lawyers People from Crystal Lake, Illinois