Before an audience of more than a thousand people gathered inside Apostolic Faith Church in Chicago’s Bronzeville community, Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. was formally sworn in as the 123rd Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court on Friday, October 24, 2025. The installation marked a milestone for the veteran jurist, who becomes only the second Black chief justice in Illinois history—following the late Justice Charles E. Freeman, who served from 1997 to 1999.
The ceremony opened with a prayer by Bishop Horace E. Smith, M.D., pastor of Apostolic Faith Church, whose benediction later closed the program. Justice Neville’s wife, Sharon J. Neville, stood beside him as he took the oath of office, marking the start of his three-year term as chief justice. His official portrait for the Illinois Supreme Court, was also unveiled during the program, a moment met with enthusiastic applause from the crowd that filled the church’s sanctuary to capacity. Justice Neville’s portrait was painted by artist Mary Qian.
The audience included judges, elected officials, attorneys, faith leaders, and community supporters who have followed Neville’s decades-long career in the law. The Illinois Courts also livestreamed the ceremony, extending the historic occasion to viewers across the state.
Justice Neville formally assumed office on Sunday, October 26, succeeding Justice Mary Jane Theis. As chief justice, he oversees the administration of the state’s court system and its more than 900 judges, supervises appointments to Supreme Court committees, leads the Illinois Judicial Conference, and presents the Court’s annual budget to the General Assembly.
A lifelong champion for equal justice, Neville has said he embraces Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s belief that “the moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Guided by that principle, he has pledged to make Illinois courts a national model of fairness, accessibility, and integrity. “Public trust in the courts requires justice that is accessible, procedures that are understandable, and support services that meet the needs of litigants,” Neville said in a statement following his installation.
Born and raised in Chicago, Neville was the first Black law clerk for a Cook County Appellate Justice and later practiced civil rights and appellate law. He prosecuted the historic 1992 Chicago Ward Re-Map case alongside the late Justice R. Eugene Pincham and future President Barack Obama. In 1999 he became a Cook County Circuit Court judge, was elevated to the Appellate Court in 2004, and joined the Illinois Supreme Court in 2018 after Justice Freeman’s retirement.
Chief Justice Neville earned his bachelor’s degree from Culver-Stockton College and his Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law. He and his wife reside in Chicago and are the parents of two adult stepdaughters .
Friday’s swearing-in was as much a celebration of personal achievement as a public affirmation of service. For many in attendance, the sight of Justice Neville taking the oath beneath the Apostolic Faith Church chandeliers—flanked by his family and surrounded by cheers—represented not just a career culmination but another bend in the moral arc he so often invokes.