Reona Jean Daly
How Judge Daly rules, drawn from 21 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Daly
Reona Jean Daly became a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Illinois in September 2016. Before joining the bench, she was associate general counsel for Southern Illinois University.
Judge Daly's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Daly, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Discovery
Email chambers about unresolved discovery disputes; Judge Daly handles them by telephone without written motions or briefs.
“Motions to Compel are disfavored. Discovery disputes are handled telephonically without written motions or briefs. When a discovery dispute arises that the parties are unable to resolve informally, the party seeking discovery shall email [email protected] to alert chambers to the dispute, attaching any documents pertinent to the dispute.”
Trial
Email the draft final pretrial order three business days before the final pretrial conference.
“The draft final pretrial order shall be e-mailed to [email protected] three business days before the final pretrial conference.”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026).
How Judge Daly decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Hileman v. Ehler, Daly recommended denying dismissal for failure to prosecute despite a missed deadline because the plaintiff had expressed intent to proceed and was cooperating in discovery.
“although Hileman failed to meet the deadline to file his notice to proceed pro se, 'he has made clear to the Court that he intends to proceed with the case and is cooperating in the discovery process'”
Procedural preferences
In Jeffries v. Penn-Star Insurance, Daly confirmed diversity jurisdiction before addressing the case’s disposition, citing the citizenship and amount in controversy shown in that record.
“The undersigned is satisfied that this Court has subject matter jurisdiction to determine Plaintiff's case. 28 U.S.C. 1332(a)(1).”
In Sardon v. Tran, Daly denied a pro se plaintiff’s summary-judgment motion because he did not cite record materials as Rule 56(c) requires.
“The Court liberally construes pleadings filed by pro se litigants, but Plaintiff must still follow this rule.”
In McKenney v. Germain, Daly held an evidentiary hearing and recommended summary judgment for the defendants because McKenney had not exhausted prison remedies. The district judge adopted the recommendation and dismissed the claim without prejudice.
“recommending, after holding an evidentiary hearing, that the Court grant the defendants' motion for summary judgment ... and dismiss ... for failure to exhaust administrative remedies”
Cautions
In Mitchell v. Murray Energy Corp., Daly recommended denying inherent-authority sanctions after finding that haste in the defendants' filings did not amount to bad faith. The district judge adopted her recommendation and denied the motion.
“The Report and Recommendation (Doc. 31) is ADOPTED in its entirety, and Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions (Doc. 26) is DENIED.”
In Daniel v. Varlan, the parties' full consent under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) placed the case before Daly for final disposition. The order's assignment statement describes this case's posture.
“This case was assigned to the undersigned for final disposition upon the parties’ full consent pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ADOPTS the Report in its entirety (Doc. 31); GRANTS the defendants' motion for summary judgment (Doc. 22); DISMISSES McKenney's claims in this case without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies”
“The Report and Recommendation (Doc. 31) is ADOPTED in its entirety, and Plaintiff's motion for sanctions (Doc. 26) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.”
“ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution (Doc. 24) is DENIED.”
“it is RECOMMENDED that this case be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE for Plaintiff's failure to prosecute.”
“the Court finds no clear error in Judge Daly's findings, analysis and conclusions, and adopts her Report and Recommendation in its entirety. ... Plaintiff's motion to remand (Doc. 12) is DENIED.”
“Defendant Crane are DISMISSED without prejudice. Count 1 against Defendant McClanahan”
“(Doc. 63) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The following claims are DISMISSED”
“Alternatively, to Enter Summary Judgment (Doc. 24) is DENIED as premature”
“is GRANTED and this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“disability benefits is REVERSED and REMANDED to the Commissioner for rehearing and”
“Defendant Craig Richert (Count 1) is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 14 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 14 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 8 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 7 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 17 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 16 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 11 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 13 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 9 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 16 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 16 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 7 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, not for Judge Daly: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 1,081 | 13.6 months |
| Closed with no court action | 651 | 13.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 414 | 13.8 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 7 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 9 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,081 | 13.6 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,389 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2023 | 863 | 9.9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 836 | 10.5 months |
| Sep 2021 | 753 | 9 months |
| Sep 2020 | 897 | 13.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,281 | 8.3 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
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