---
title: "Sidney Schenkier | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sidney-schenkier-9235"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Sidney Schenkier

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: 2026-06-30

## Biography

### Professional career

- Sidney I. Schenkier was a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois from 1998 until his retirement in April 2020, serving as Presiding Magistrate Judge from 2009 to 2012
- He clerked for U.S. District Judge Marvin E. Aspen and held the role of a Bigelow Teaching Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School

### Education

- J.D. magna cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law in 1979, being selected to the Order of the Coif
- B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University in 1976

### Additional information

- Magistrate, District Court, N.D. Illinois, 1998-present
- In 2016, the Federal Magistrate Judge Association honored him with its Founders Award for leadership in the profession, including presiding over litigation that restored cost-of-living increases for magistrates
- Appointed as a Magistrate Judge in 1998, Schenkier presided over thousands of cases and conducted over 2,000 settlement conferences.
- He became a partner in 1986
- In 1981, Schenkier joined Jenner & Block in Chicago, where he practiced civil and criminal law for nearly 17 years, including work on three U.S. Supreme Court cases and a pro bono capital murder case.
- Born April 27, 1955 in St. Louis, Missouri, Judge Schenkier is the son of a Holocaust survivor.
- As Presiding Magistrate Judge, he expanded the Settlement Assistance Program to include prisoner civil rights cases.
- He served nearly 21 years on the Court’s Rules Committee and 10 years on the James B. Moran Second Chance Program, assisting previously incarcerated individuals re-entering society

## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9235/sidney-schenkier/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9235/sidney-schenkier/)
- [U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9235/sidney-schenkier/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9235/sidney-schenkier/)
- [Sidney Schenkier - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Sidney_Schenkier)

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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.