"Living Legend" of Journalism Joel Daly Named 
District Court Information Officer

CHICAGO, IL — Today, Chief Judge James F. Holderman announced that Joel Daly, a lawyer and veteran journalist, has been named to the position of District Court Information Officer.

Relying on his 50-year career as a broadcast journalist and his knowledge of the court system, as the District Court Information Officer, Daly will assist journalists who are covering the courts. Daly will be available to provide information about the court’s docket, scheduled and on-going court proceedings, the judges, and other inquires journalists may have.

Daly started his broadcasting career at age 17. Beginning in 1967, Daly served as a co-anchor for ABC 7 Chicago, first on the 10 o’clock news with the late Fahey Flynn and then alongside Linda Yu on the 4 o’clock newscast, until Daly retired from his news anchor position in June, 2005.

Inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 2003 as a "living legend," Daly has won five Chicago Emmy Awards, including a citation for nightly commentary, a citation for "highlighting the genuine humanity and humor in the day's happenings," and an award for excellence in writing. He received the Herman Kogan Award from the Chicago Bar Association and the NATAS Silver Circle Award. His commentaries were also honored with the 1973 Liberty Bell award from the Chicago Bar Association and the 1974 Human Relations award from the American Jewish Congress.

In addition to his role as newscaster, Daly is active in music and theater. He appears yearly in the "Christmas Spirits" revue of the Chicago Bar Association. He was critically lauded for his 1994 role as Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird" at Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theater. Daly also shone in "Darrow," a one-man play about the legendary Clarence Darrow, and as the lead character in William Kennedy's "Grand View" at the Pegasus Theater.

Daly serves on the Board of Directors of the Pro Bono Clinic for the Disabled and Elderlaw. He has been a volunteer mediator at the Center for Conflict Resolution; and an arbitrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County. He is also a member of the Chicago Inn of Court.

Daly graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1956, earning a B.A. degree in English. Thirty years later, in 1988, he graduated with honors from IIT-Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he was a member of the mock trial team that won the national championship. Daly is a member of the Bar, both in Illinois and Wisconsin, and currently serves as an adjunct professor and Director of External Affairs at the John Marshall Law School.

Chief Judge Holderman said, "We are very pleased that Joel Daly, a highly respected lawyer and journalist, will be joining our court family as District Court Information Officer. Joel, because of his background and experience both in law and journalism, is well suited to serve as a liaison with the judges of the District Court and to make information about the court and court proceedings more available to the media and to the public."

Daly’s office is room 1944, in the southwest corner of the 19th floor of the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60604. Daly also can be reached at the Courthouse by e-mail at joel_daly@ilnd.uscourts.gov, by phone at (312) 435-5693, or by fax at (312) 554-8239.