William Joseph Bauer

William J. Bauer (born September 15, 1926) is a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.

Judge Bauer was born in Chicago before moving with his family to Elmhurst. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1945 until 1947, he received an A.B. from Elmhurst College in 1949, and his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 1952.

Early in his career, he served as an Assistant State's Attorney in DuPage County, Illinois, eventually becoming First Assistant State's Attorney, and then State's Attorney in 1959. He began his judicial career in 1964, on the Circuit Court for the 18th Judicial Circuit in DuPage County.

After serving for a year as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, he was nominated by President Richard Nixon in 1971 to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In 1974, President Gerald Ford elevated Judge Bauer to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. From 1986 until 1993, he served as the Chief Judge of that court, before assuming senior status in 1994.

Judge Bauer married Mary Nicol (Mike to all who knew her) in 1950, and they had two daughters, Pat and Linda.

Sources

[http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=122] Federal Judicial Center profile

[http://www.dcba.org/brief/sepissue/1999/art90999.htm] DCBA Brief Online