---
title: "Beth W. Jantz | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/beth-jantz"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Beth W. Jantz

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · U.S. Magistrate Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- State: Illinois
- Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-29

## Biography

### Professional career

- In April 2026, she returned to Dartmouth as part of the Rockefeller Center’s Law and Democracy series, sharing her career and perspectives on criminal justice reform
- U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, appointed in 2019, with a career spanning public defense, private practice, and judicial service
- She has publicly advocated for shifting from an “incarceration model” to a “treatment and rehabilitation model” in criminal justice

### Education

- B.A. in Political Science from Dartmouth College (1999) and a J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (2002)

### Additional information

- Magistrate, District Court, N.D. Illinois, 2020-present
- Judge Jantz has been instrumental in the SOAR program, which offers a therapeutic alternative to incarceration for eligible felony defendants.

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge_display.php?LastName=Jantz)
- [Official roster](https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge_display.php?LastName=Jantz)
- [U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois current judicial profile](https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge_display.php?LastName=Jantz)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9230/beth-jantz/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9230/beth-jantz/)
- [Official United States court source; CourtListener / Free Law Project judicial profile or roster](https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge_display.php?LastName=Jantz)

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## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
- [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.