Ruben Castillo

Rubén Castillo (born August 12, 1954) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In 1994, Castillo was the first person of Latino descent to be named a judge in the Northern District of Illinois, and in 2013 the first to become Chief Judge.

Early life and education

Born in Chicago, Illinois to a Mexican-American father and a Puerto Rican mother, Castillo was the first member of his family to finish college. Castillo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1976 from Loyola University in Chicago, working nights as a clerk at the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County to put himself through school.

Professional career

From 1979 until 1984, Castillo worked in private law practice in Chicago as an associate attorney for the law firm Jenner & Block. In 1984, he was named an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He worked as an Assistant United States Attorney until 1988, when he became a regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund. In 1991, Castillo returned to private law practice, where he worked as a partner at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis until 1994.

Federal judicial service

On January 27, 1994, President Bill Clinton nominated Castillo to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated by Nicholas John Bua. At his confirmation hearing before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on March 25, 1994, Castillo told senators that "...in my career I have had the privilege of serving various clients from all walks of life, from some of the corporate 100 organizations to individuals who had literally no assets, and I have always enjoyed the role of being the advocate for those clients, but I really came to a conclusion that I would like to have only one client from now on, and that client being justice, per se, and that is why I want to be a Federal district court judge."

Personal Castillo and his wife, Sylvia Mojica-Castillo, were married in 1978. They live on Chicago's Northwest Side.