U.S. District Judge James Zagel dies at age 82 after serving in many public roles in Illinois
U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel, foreground, sits at one of the tables at the annual dinner during the 59th annual meeting of the Seventh Circuit Bar Association and Judicial Conference of the Seventh Circuit at the InterContinental hotel, May 3,
CHICAGO - Former U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel, 82, died on Saturday night after a long illness.
Zagel was appointed to the Northern District of Illinois in 1987 and assumed senior status in 2016, a court spokesperson said.
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He was born in Chicago and raised in Lakeview. He attended the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School. After he graduated in 1965, he became a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney. He served with the Illinois Attorney General's Office from 1969 to 1977.
Zagel served in other public roles as well, including director of the Illinois Department of Revenue and director of the Illinois State Police.
Zagel was busy outside of work, and was known as an avid patron of the arts, the court said. He wrote a novel, Money to Burn, and was an actor.
He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Margaret Maxwell Zagel.
"Jim Zagel was a Renaissance man—a lover of the arts, music, and literature; a published author himself; and a man of elegance and charm. And he was a treasured friend to the attorneys and law enforcement officers he worked with for many years, his law clerks, and especially his fellow judges, who miss him dearly," said Chief Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer in a statement.