SE Illinois News

Cities within Hamilton County had an unchanged number of lawyers with active licenses in June compared to the previous month, according to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) of the Supreme Court of Illinois.

In total, there were six active legal licenses recorded in Hamilton County in June.

The highest number of licenses were granted in Mcleansboro (four).According to the ABA’s 2024 Profile of the Legal Profession, Illinois had the fourth-highest number of lawyers per capita in the United States, with nearly five lawyers per 1,000 residents.

Illinois is home to the fifth-largest lawyer population in the U.S., with over 62,000 attorneys, according to the ABA’s 2024 Profile of the Legal Profession.

As of March 2025, average lawyer salaries in Illinois ranged from $107,027 for an entry-level attorney handling routine legal work to $224,163 for highly experienced attorneys managing complex cases with significant autonomy. Mid-level attorneys, such as those in Attorney III roles—who handle highly complex legal work with moderate supervision—earned on average $178,994 in Illinois, compared to $174,969 nationwide.

Data refers to all lawyers who were actively practicing during this period.

Lawyer Name	Date of Admission
Donald Wayne Morris	10/29/1980
Frank William Bonan	05/07/1973
James Lealon Van Winkle	11/05/1979
Justin Ernest Hood	05/05/2005
Kent E. Kiefer	05/05/2016
Letitia Benae Wiggins	05/01/2014