On September 9, 2025, the Fourth District Justices, law clerks and staff members convened at Biaggi’s in Bloomington, IL for their annual CLE and staff appreciation day. The Honorable James A. Knecht was honored for his 50 years on the bench.
James A. Knecht was born in Lincoln, Illinois and educated at Illinois State University (ISU) and the University of Illinois College of Law, graduating with honors in 1973. He was an editor of the
Law Review
and a member of the Order of the Coif. He served as a law clerk to Illinois Supreme Court Justice Robert C. Underwood (1973-74), as an Associate Circuit Judge (1975-78) and as a Circuit Judge (1978-86) before being elected to the Fourth District Appellate Court in 1986. He is the longest serving judge in Illinois and a Distinguished Alum of Illinois State University.
Justice Knecht is a member of the Illinois State and McLean County Bar Associations and is a fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the ISU Foundation Board, served on the Board of the Institute for Collaborative Solutions, the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council, and on the National Advisory Board of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. He was an adjunct professor at ISU from 1977 to 2004. Justice Knecht was the co-founder and charter president of the Robert C. Underwood Inn of Court. He and his wife, Ruth, reside in Normal and have one son and three grandchildren, the children of their deceased daughter. His most important roles have been as a coach for two grandsons in football, basketball, and baseball, and as a bootblack and groom for his equestrian daughter, wife, and granddaughter. He paid for his first typewriter playing nine-ball.