Barry Vaughan was born in McLeansboro, Hamilton County in 1962. He attended Eastern Illinois University, Southeast Missouri State University, and graduated from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He attended SIU School of Law and graduated in 1988. While a 3rd year law student he was nominated to run for Wayne County State’s Attorney and was elected in November, 1988 and began the first of two terms in December, 1988 at the age of 26, the youngest state’s attorney in Illinois. After serving two terms as state’s attorney, he then spent six years in private practice as a partner in Cochran and Vaughan where he also served as Fairfield City attorney. He was elected Hamilton County Resident Judge in the 2nd Judicial Circuit in 2002 and was retained in 2008, 2014, and 2020. In December 2020 he was assigned to the Fifth District Appellate Court. His community involvement includes serving as president of the Fairfield Lions Club, the Hamilton County Rotary Club, the Wayne County Bar Association, and the Hamilton County Fair Association. He currently serves as the Hamilton County High School boys’ golf coach, as a USGA rules official, and as a licensed basketball referee. Judge Vaughan has been married for 32 years to his wife, Kimberly, and they have three children—Grant, Landon, and Kylee.