Bill Caisley, who served central Illinois as a judge and later as a McLean County Board member, has died at age 84.
Caisley, of Normal, spent decades as an attorney and then a judge in central Illinois. One of his most famous cases was a labor dispute involving Normal firefighters who, in 1978, spent 42 days in jail as part of the longest firefighters’ strike in history. The Republican then served on the McLean County Board for 14 years, opting not to seek re-election in 2020.
In an exit interview with WGLT in 2020, Caisley joked that he first ran for county board so he wouldn't keep getting called back to the bench in retirement.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my career as a judge and I knew that I could not tell them no, so I decided there would be a good reason why I would have to tell them (no),” said Caisley.
At one time, Caisley was the youngest judge in the state of Illinois, and when he retired, he was among the longest-serving members of the judiciary.
“He was Judge Caisley to some. To others William T. Caisley. To most people he was Bill,” said Dan Brady, a longtime former Republican state lawmaker from Bloomington-Normal. “He put people first. He respected people for their differences, and if we had more Bill Caisleys in this world, we’d be in better shape.”
Caisley was known for his colorful ways of doing things — from his love of colorful flowers and gardening to his blue court robes. He regularly wore flamboyant slacks or coats. At Christmas, there were bright embroidered items with trees or candy canes or holly, depending on his mood.
“He came to my St. Patrick’s Day fundraiser once with the biggest Irish hat on and dressed as green as anyone there,” said Brady, adding Caisley was an individual who could relate to people and people related to him.
The late Jesse Smart, a former mayor of Bloomington, once told WGLT that Caisley and his wife Mary were the powers that be in Republican politics in Normal for a generation. Smart said no candidate could succeed without getting the Caisleys’ backing.
“They were highly respected. They weren’t the type of individuals — Judge Caisley wasn’t, nor Mary — to carry grudges and [they] understood people have their differences and have their differences in politics. When you had a stamp of approval, or the Caisley name behind your candidacy, or being in office, that was a golden seal,” said Brady.
“He had respect for each person he came in contact with and that’s why people loved him.”
Caisley was devoted to the ideal of community and to strengthening the bones of Bloomington-Normal institutions.
“It’s exhibited by the fact he retired from the bench and later went back and ran for county board and served there,” Brady said. “I think his memberships spoke loudly, whether it was the symphony or the Young Men’s Club where he would enjoy a good laugh. Or, it was working for those who have less, on the housing side of things in the Bloomington-Normal area and different groups.”
Caisley also was a member of Normal Rotary Club and First United Methodist Church.
Brady noted the entire Caisley family has been strongly publicly minded. Mary Caisley served a lengthy tenure as Normal Township supervisor. Their son Tom became mayor of Danvers.
Caisley's time on the bench
Retired judge Elizabeth Robb served with Caisley on the bench in McLean County for over a decade. Long before Robb became chief judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, she had multiple cases in Caisley’s courtroom as a divorce attorney.
Robb recalled Caisley was always conscientious and polite and had a greater supply of patience than most judges have.
“I do not remember a time either as a lawyer in front of him or as a judge where I saw him lose his temper,” Robb said.
Robb recalled a chaotic scene in which a murder defendant threw a chair in the courtroom, striking his attorney, then punched Caisley in the face. The defendant wanted a new judge to hear his case.
Caisley decided the incident would not prejudice him in determining the defendant’s fate. An appellate court later upheld Caisley’s decision and noted he handled the matter with grace, Robb said.
Robb also noted Caisley’s mastery of obscure law that pertained to rare cases involving sanitary, drainage and mosquito abatement districts.
“He knew all of the intricacies of the law in that area and how those things are handled. He was one of the few judges I think that really understood that,” Robb said.
McLean County government
Terry Lindberg served as assistant McLean County administrator and later McLean County administrator during Caisley’s time on the County Board.
Lindberg said Caisley’s judicial temperament served him well for that role.
“He had the gift of a logical legal mind and also a great deal of knowledge of the history of McLean County government,” Lindberg said.
Lindberg said he recalled seeing Caisley earlier in the week to Young Men’s Club and noted he appeared to be in good health.
“I was very shocked and surprised to hear of his passing,” Lindberg said.
George Gordon served on the County Board with Caisley during each of the retired judge’s four terms.
Gordon, a Democrat, referred to Caisley as principled and consistent, but said the two could still work together on some issues despite their political differences.
“You could always depend on what he said being what he meant,” Gordon said, adding Caisley was most principled in criminal justice matters.
Gordon replaced Caisley as the board’s Justice Committee chair in 2016 after Caisley asked then-board chair John McIntyre to reassign him to a different committee.
“I was honored to be asked. Bill Caisley was a tough act to follow,” Gordon recalled.
Gordon said Caisley’s sense of humor, often demonstrated by his colorful attire, helped the two maintain a congenial working relationship on the board, especially as the two — and sometimes their spouses — interacted elsewhere, including Young Men’s Club and at Illinois Symphony Orchestra concerts.
Bill Caisley graduated from the University of Illinois Law School in 1964. He began his legal career as an assistant state's attorney in McLean County. He became an associate judge in 1971, a circuit judge in 1973, and eventually served as chief judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit that includes McLean, Livingston, Logan, Ford and Woodford counties.
Caisley served on judicial education panels and professional development groups long after his retirement from the bench, and former Gov. Bruce Rauner appointed him to a judicial review board, said Brady.
Visitation for Caisley will be held from 4-7 p.m. Friday at First United Methodist Church in Normal. The funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the church. Burial will follow at 4 p.m. at Evergreen Cemetery in Morris.
