--- title: "Elaine E. Bucklo | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elaine-e-bucklo" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Elaine E. Bucklo U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - State: Illinois - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, N.D. Illinois, 1994-2009 - Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994 and elevated to senior status in 2009 - District Judge (1994–2009): Nominated August 16, 1994, by President Clinton to replace John Albert Nordberg; confirmed by the Senate October 7, 1994; commissioned October 11, 1994 - Visiting professor of law, University of California at Davis School of Law, 1978-1980 - Law clerk to Judge Robert A. Sprecher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1972–1973) - The first magistrate judge in Illinois to be confirmed as a district judge ### Education - Saint Louis University — B.A. (1966) - Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law ### Additional information - Senior Judge (since October 31, 2009): Retained jurisdiction over certain matters while on senior status - U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1985-1994 - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1980-1985 - Private practice, Chicago, IL, 1973-1978 - Date of birth: 1944-01-01 - Active in the Judicial Conference Committees on Administration of the Federal Magistrate Judge System and on Financial Disclosure - Birth place: Chelsea, MA ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378516) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378516) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378516) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/453/elaine-e-bucklo/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/453/elaine-e-bucklo/) - [Wikidata: Elaine E. Bucklo](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5353204) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elaine-e-bucklo", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elaine-e-bucklo", "name": "Elaine E. Bucklo | KnowJudges", "description": "Elaine E. Bucklo, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elaine-e-bucklo#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elaine-e-bucklo#judge", "name": "Elaine E. Bucklo", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elaine-e-bucklo", "jobTitle": "U.S. District Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1378516", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/453/elaine-e-bucklo/" ], "birthDate": "1944", "birthPlace": "Chelsea, MA", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Saint Louis University" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Illinois", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/illinois" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elaine E. Bucklo", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/elaine-e-bucklo" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 286 | 24 | 3.3 | 24 | | 2y | 509 | 135 | 3.4 | 135 | | 5y | 1168 | 756 | 4 | 756 | | 10y | 2362 | 1915 | 4.7 | 1915 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## 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.