Philip Baker Benefiel (June 25, 1923 – April 7, 2019) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. Benefiel was born in

Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Illinois, United States, located along the Embarras River. The population was 4,348 at the 2010 census. Lawrenceville is located in southeast Illinois, northwest of Vincennes, In ...

and went to the Lawrenceville public schools. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Benefiel received his bachelor's and law degrees from

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. He practiced law in Lawrence, Illinois. Benefiel served as the Illinois states attorney for

Lawrence County, Illinois Lawrence County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,280. Its county seat is Lawrenceville. History Lawrence County was formed in 1821 out of Crawford and Edwards counties. It was ...

from 1948 to 1952 and was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. Benefiel served in the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

from 1965 to 1966. He then served as an Illinois associate judge and then an Illinois circuit court judge from 1968 until 1991. Benefiel died at his home in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

.Philip Baker Benefiel-obituary
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Notes

1923 births 2019 deaths People from Lawrenceville, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois District attorneys in Illinois Illinois lawyers Illinois state court judges Democratic Party Illinois state senators 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War II University of Illinois College of Law alumni {{Illinois-politician-stub