Recognizing Trial Court Administrators in Illinois

The Illinois Supreme Court is recognizing the work of trial court administrators across the state. The following features Eleventh Judicial Circuit Trial Court Administrator William Scanlon and his thoughts on his career and more.

Tell us about your background and how it led to your role as a trial court administrator.

I graduated with a Master's Degree in Public Administration in 1992 and at the time worked part-time for the Social Security Administration (SSA) in Minnesota as a hearing assistant (a traveling assistant for the Administrative Law Judge hearing Social Security Disability claims). My graduate supervisor recommended I apply for court administration jobs, and I got a job as a Court Administrator for a three-county area in NW Minnesota - Polk County in the Ninth Judicial District of MN (in 1992).

Following four years of work in the Ninth District, I took my current position with the Eleventh Circuit in central Illinois in 1996.

What inspired you to pursue a career in the judicial branch?

I was looking for full-time work and was familiar with the judicial branch through my studies and through my work with the SSA. I really enjoyed my courses in the legal aspects of administration (human resources and hiring issues), so I believed I would prefer the judicial branch over municipal administration or city planning.

How would you describe a typical day as a trial court administrator? What are your responsibilities?

My main daily work boils down to problem solving - this is a five-county circuit with 21 judges and 40+ staff - you are tasked with all the background work which makes a court operate - scheduling of cases and personnel, budgeting, information management, software, and audio recording operation. There is always a policy to consider, unhappy clientele, a security problem which crops up, an issue regarding the processing of cases or a meeting to attend to consider the overall management of the criminal/civil justice system. Most of the clientele are not here by choice and that changes the environment in which decisions are made. You cannot double the output if the volume requires it. A case takes the time necessary for completion - you cannot speed through them to get to the end of the list.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? What is the most rewarding?

Most challenging: anticipating the needs of the court system one to two years down the road - budget and policy making in the court system is dependent upon all the other attorneys, public offices, and agencies related to the cases before the trial courts. Their decision-making is not directly controlled by the Court, but we have to manage those cases regardless of the decision made.

The most rewarding is the work the Court does with schools in mock trials and other public outreach. Annually, the Court hosts a college mock trial tournament (in November) and with local high schools (in February). The students are so enthusiastic and grateful for the opportunity to come in and have the mock trial experience.

I am also very grateful for the experience of being a member of the Illinois Judicial Conference from 2018 to 2025. There are a great number of intelligent, dedicated, and insightful people working for the judicial branch, and I was privileged to work with them on a number of policy issues over those years.

Who do you rely on, whether it be at the office or at home, when there's a hectic day at work?

100% thankful for my spouse of 34+ years. She is always there to listen.

Additionally, there is a good group of employees who are skilled at resolving problems or commiserating when they cannot be solved.

Is there anything else that you'd like to share?

This is an interesting job which is a little different every day and has challenges for the future. People expect the court system to work smoothly and that is the challenge - to bring all the personnel, resources, parties, attorneys together over thousands of cases a year and ensure the system is fair and equitable to all parties and to reach a disposition in a vast majority of cases.