Path-Breaking Nomination to Illinois Bench

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (CN) - President Obama nominated Staci Yandle to a seat on the federal bench in the Southern District of Illinois. If confirmed, Yandle will be the first openly gay judge in the 7th Circuit, and the district's first black judge.

Yandle, an attorney in O'Fallon, Ill., was nominated to the seat occupied by U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert, who is taking senior status on March 15.

Before starting her own firm in 2007, Yandle worked for four years at the Rex Carr Law Firm and for 16 years at Carr Korein and Tillery.

Yandle, a graduate from the University of Illinois and Vanderbilt University School of Law, sits on the board of directors of the Illinois Bar Foundation. She taught as an adjunct professor at the St. Louis University School of Law for nearly a decade, according to the Madison County Record.

Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill. announced Yandle's nomination.

Calls to Yandle were not returned.

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