William E. Holdridge was born on March 30, 1948, in Peoria. He is a graduate of Farmington Community Schools. He received his B.S. degree in education from Illinois State University, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois and his J.D. degree from Southern Illinois University. Judge Holdridge has been a professor at the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University and was engaged in the private practice of law in Peoria and Fulton counties. He has served as a Circuit Judge in the Ninth Judicial Circuit, law clerk for the Illinois Supreme Court and the Appellate Court, Third District, and as a Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. In November 1994, he was elected Judge of the Appellate Court, Third District. Judge Holdridge is admitted to the bar of Illinois and Missouri and is a member of the Peoria County, Fulton County and Missouri Bar Associations. He is single.