Wigginton
Durbin
Stephen R. Wigginton, a partner with Weilmuenster & Wigginton in Belleville, has been nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced Wednesday that President Barack Obama had nominated Wigginton.
Wigginton, of Troy, has served as a part-time felony prosecutor in the Madison County State's Attorney's Office since 1999.
His nomination will be reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Durbin is a member. If approved by the committee, his nomination will go to a vote before the full Senate.
Last year, Durbin established three bipartisan screening committees to help select federal judges, U.S. attorneys and U.S. marshals. The committees were comprised of 22 legal professionals—former judges, litigators, professors, bar association leaders and former prosecutors and defenders.
Southern Illinois University law professor Sheila Simon, who has since been slated Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, served as chair for the screening panel.
Durbin reviewed the screening committees' recommendations, conducted interviews of finalists, and ultimately submitted finalists' names to the president, who makes final decisions on nominations.
"With over twenty years of civil and criminal legal experience, Stephen Wigginton has been a leader in the Southern Illinois community," Durbin said in a statement. "I was honored to recommend his name to President Obama, and am confident that he will bring a strong work ethic and great depth of knowledge to the position of U.S. Attorney."
Wigginton will replace A. Courtney Cox, a Republican, who was appointed U.S. Attorney in 2007. Cox also was under consideration for re-appointment.