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Judge Deborah L. Thorne

Location and Contact Information
Courtroom 682
Chambers: (312) 706-1805
Courtroom Deputy: (312) 435-5645		 Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse
219 South Dearborn Street
Chambers 600
Chicago, IL 60604

Staff Information

Courtroom Deputy Judicial Assistant Law Clerk
Lester Smith Jodi Bennett Katherine Osborn

Judge Tabs

Chicago Schedule

Courtroom 682 or through Zoom (link is external):
- Meeting ID: 160 9362 1728
- Passcode: NO PASSCODE REQUIRED

The calendar below is for Chicago matters. Please read the court’s schedules for Joliet and Chicago dates carefully.  If you notice a Joliet matter on a Chicago motion call (or vice versa), the motion will not be called and will be denied unless, prior to hearing, an amended notice is filed for the proper date.

Chapter 13 Cases - Chicago

Trustee (new) motions:

 Wednesday at 9:15 a.m.
Original (new) Attorney and Pro se Party motions: Wednesday at 9:15 a.m.
Continued Motions and Set Matters: Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
Adversary complaints: Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
Confirmation: Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
Chapter 7 and 11 Cases - Chicago
Original Motions: Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.
Continued Motions and Set Matters: Wednesday at 1:15 p.m.
Adversary Complaints: Wednesday at 1:15 p.m.
Chapter 7 Trustee's Final Report and Account
Application for Compensation:		 Wednesday at 1:15 p.m.
Involuntary Petition Summons Return Date: Wednesday at 1:15 p.m.
Confirmation, Continued Confirmation Matters, and Post-Confirmation Status: Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.

Notes:
Please do not submit courtesy copies to chambers unless otherwise requested.
JUDGE THORNE PREFERS COUNSEL TO APPEAR IN PERSON FOR CHAPTER 11 MATTERS.

Court Calendar

Opinions
Biography
Judge Deborah L. Thorne's Biography
Appointed
Appointed for a fourteen year term pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 152 October 22, 2015.
Education
B.A., Macalester College, 1975; M.A.T., Duke University, 1976; J.D., Illinois Institute of Technology, 1983.  
Prior Employment
Chicago Office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP., Partner; Served as receiver for the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in cases brought by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Professional Organizations
Member of the Board and Education Chair of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (2019-2020) and President of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges 2021 – 2022.  Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and Regent-at-Large 2024 – 2026. Former member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Bankruptcy Institute. Former member of Board of Governors for the Seventh Circuit Bar Association. Previous Chair of the Bankruptcy Committees for the Seventh Circuit Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Past Chair and Board member of Women Employed, a national policy organization dedicated to improving the economic lives of low wage working women. Member of IWIRC, National Association of Women Judges, and Decalogue Society of Lawyers.
Publications
Frequent writer and speaker on bankruptcy issues and other commercial issues. She has written and co-edited numerous treatises and articles, including Preference Defense Handbook: The Circuits Compared, published by the American Bankruptcy Institute, Issues for Suppliers and Customers of Financially Troubled Auto Suppliers, published by the American Bankruptcy Institute, Manual of Credit and Commercial Law, published by the National Association of Credit Management and many articles for the ABI Journal and for NACM’s Business Credit.

 

Remote/Zoom Information
All of Judge Thorne’s court calls will be held in person and via Zoom for Government in accordance with the General order 22-04.  The meeting ID below will be used for all motion calls.  This notice of motion must be used.
 
For more information see "Zoom Hearing Information" under procedures tab.
 
Meeting ID:  160 9362 1728
NO PASSCODE REQUIRED
 
To join the ZoomGov Meeting:
-Join by website:  https://www.zoomgov.com/join (link is external)
-Join by phone:  (669) 254-5252 or (646) 828-7666
Not Sitting

Joliet Schedule

(Will County Cases)

Judge Thorne will hear the Joliet call on selected Thursdays (see upcoming dates below) as follows:

Ch. 7 Original Motions    9:00
Ch. 7 Continued/Set Matters    9:15

Ch. 13 Trustee Motions    9:30
Ch. 13 Original Motions    9:45
Ch. 13 Continued/Set Matters    10:00
Ch. 13 Confirmations    10:30

Upcoming Joliet dates are as follows:

Until further notice the Joliet call will occur twice monthly. Please check Judge Thorne’s webpage for future dates.

Procedures

New procedures will be effective in Judge Thorne’s courtroom beginning June 1, 2025.
Significant changes to be aware of:

  • A new requirement to include email addresses in signature blocks;
  • A change in exhibit procedures for motions to continue or impose stay in effect;
  • A new deadline for filing amended plans prior to confirmation hearing, and additional information required for motions to modify chapter 13 plans;
  • Clarifications of procedures for draft orders to follow and complex or lengthy proposed orders; and
  • New discovery dispute and summary judgment procedures.

New Procedures effective on June 1, 2025

Law Clerk/Extern Hiring Information

Law Clerk/Extern Hiring Information

LAW CLERK HIRING INFORMATION

Judge Thorne is no longer accepting law clerk applications for September 2025.

EXTERN INFORMATION

We are not accepting extern applications for the Fall of 2024 at this time.