Filling Noncontroversial Vacancies on the Federal Bench in Illinois

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] -- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said on the floor of the U.S. Senate today that non-controversial judicial nominees -- including John Lee and Jay Tharp, nominated to fill vacancies on the Northern District of Illinois -- should be approved without delay. Nearly one of every ten federal judgeships is currently vacant and there are 17 federal districts and 4 circuits in which the vacancy situation has been designated a "judicial emergency" by the non-partisan Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, including the Northern District of Illinois.