Joe Billy McDade

Joe Billy McDade (born 1937) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, with chambers in Peoria, Illinois. He is the first judge of the newly created seat, and was appointed by President George H. W. Bush. Education and career Born in Bellville, Texas, McDade received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, with Honors, in 1959, and a Master of Science in Psychology in 1960, both from Bradley University. While at Bradley, McDade was part of the All-NIT Basketball Team in 1957 and 1959 as a member of the Bradley University NIT Championship team. He earned a Juris Doctor from University of Michigan Law School in 1963. McDade was a staff attorney in the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division in Chicago from 1963 to 1965. He was an executive trainee at the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Peoria, Illinois in 1965. He was executive director of the Greater Peoria Legal Aid Society from 1965 to 1968. He was in private practice in Peoria from 1968 to 1982: first as a partner in Hafele & McDade, P.C., until 1977, then in solo practice until his election as a state judge in 1982.