The Hon. Nancy A. Nicholson is an associate judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois. She was appointed to the bench by the judges of the 21st Judicial Circuit on February 11, 2021.
The 21st Judicial Circuit includes Kankakee County and Iroquois County.
Prior to her appointment, Nicholson was an assistant state’s attorney for the Kankakee County State’s Attorney’s Office, a position to which she was named in 2012. During her tenure there, she represented Kankakee County in civil matters and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services in county paternity and child support cases.
Nicholson earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from William Jewell College in 1997. She spent the next few years as a caseworker for Hillcrest Ministries (1997 to 1998) and an administrative assistant for the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office (1995 to 2000) before completing a J.D. at Northern Illinois University College of Law in 2004.
After graduating from law school, Nicholson began her legal career as an assistant state’s attorney for the Kankakee County State’s Attorney’s Office. She served in that capacity until 2010, at which time she entered into private practice at Elliott & McClure.
Her memberships have included the Kankakee County Bar Association.
Nicholson was raised in St. Anne, Illinois, and attended Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School.