J. Phil Gilbert

J. Phil Gilbert, a lifelong resident of Carbondale, was appointed to the SIU Board of Trustees by Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2015 and reappointed by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2021. Gilbert served as a member of the Illinois State Board of Elections and was chairman from 1981 to 1983 and vice chairman from 1983 to 1985. Former Gov. James Thompson appointed Gilbert to the Election Reform Commission in 1984 and he also served on the National Council on Governmental Ethics Laws from 1983 to 1987.

Gilbert was a partner in the firm of Gilbert, Kimmel, Huffman & Prosser, Ltd. from 1983 to 1988 when he was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court as a circuit judge in the First Judicial Circuit and served as a state court judge until his appointment to the federal bench. He was appointed United States district judge for the Southern District of Illinois in September 1992 by President George H. W. Bush. He served as chief judge of the Southern District of Illinois from October 1993 to September 2000. While on the federal bench, Gilbert served a six-year term on the Judicial Conference Committee on Criminal Law.

In March 2014, Gilbert assumed Senior Status but continues his public service by rendering substantial service as a senior judge.

Among his many honors, Gilbert received the Silver Gavel Award for his dedication to justice from the criminal defense bars of the Southern District of Illinois and the Eastern District of Missouri in 2008; the SIU School of Law Founders’ Medal for distinguished service to the law school in 2009; and Loyola School of Law’s Distinguished Jurist Award in 2010.

He is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Loyola University of Chicago School of Law in 1974.