Amazing Alumna:

Rebecca Pallmeyer ’76, College of Arts and Sciences, Christ College

Current life role: Federal Judge, U.S. District Court in Chicago

“ I really never forget what an enormous honor it is to be a judge of this nation,” says Rebecca Pallmeyer, of her role as a federal judge in Chicago’s U.S. District Court. “It is a challenge every day to be worthy of that honor and of the respect that most Americans accord to the courts.” And right now Pallmeyer’s job is presenting her with what might be the most significant challenge of her career: presiding over the conspiracy case of former Illinois Governor George Ryan.

The national spotlight

In December 2003, former Gov. Ryan was indicted on 18 federal racketeering, fraud and conspiracy charges. His headline-making trial got under way in September 2005, with Pallmeyer on the bench. “What is most challenging is managing a very long, high-profile trial while trying to keep up with my other cases and personal commitments,” she says. “Sometimes the workload is colossal. Even in more ‘normal’ times, it's tough to stay on top of the demands for fair, clearly-written, and well-reasoned rulings in the huge variety of cases that come into the federal court.”

Pallmeyer says her Valpo education has helped her successfully meet the demands of a legal career. “Particularly in Christ College, but also in upper-level history classes, I was called upon to read various sources, confront and evaluate conflicting authorities, and develop my own analysis. I still use those skills every day,” she says. 

The rewards

Along with a judge’s demanding workload, however, comes unique rewards. Pallmeyer says, “What is most rewarding to me about being a judge is knowing that I am called upon not to do what is most expedient, most financially beneficial, or most noteworthy; I am called upon to do what is right.”

“Now that I've been on the bench for a while, I've had prisoners, or people who have completed their prison sentences, or their families, write to me to tell me that persons I've sentenced have been able to turn their lives around. Nothing is more rewarding than feeling I've had some hand in that.”