Harold A. Baker

CHAMPAIGN - Judge Harold A. Baker, 93, of Champaign died Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, as he wished, at home with his wife of 72 years, Dorothy, and their three children by his side. He was a dedicated civil servant, family man, mentor and friend.   

Judge Baker was born in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., to John Shirley Baker and Ruth Sarmiento Baker and was the youngest of six children.

As an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, he majored in political science and history, earning a B.A. in 1951. He and his wife, Dorothy, met at the university and married in 1951. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1951-53 as a lieutenant junior grade on the destroyer USS Watts.  

Returning to the University of Illinois after his service in the Navy, Judge Baker received a Juris Doctor from the College of Law in 1956 and began a distinguished legal career. He joined the firm of Wheat, Hatch and Corazza, where his specialty was civil litigation. He served for more than 20 years on the Illinois Supreme Court Committee to make jury instructions unbiased, accurate and free of legal jargon.

From 1972 to 1978, he was an adjunct faculty member of the University of Illinois College of Law and developed, along with Judge Prentice Marshall, a trial advocacy program for practical courtroom experience for law students.

He served as senior counsel to the United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States, the Rockefeller Commission, in 1975. After 22 years of private practice, he was appointed to the federal bench in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter. 

Judge Baker served as a federal judge for the Eastern District of Illinois in Danville and later the Central District in Urbana for almost 44 years, taking senior status in 1994 but remaining active until 2022. He was appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court to the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court from 1995 to 2005. The Champaign Country Bar Association recognized him as a "Pillar of the Bar" in 2022.

Outside of the courtroom, Judge Baker was a member of the Champaign school board and the Champaign Rotary. He loved to boat on Rainy Lake in Minnesota, play tennis, walk and read. His love of cooking and baking runs in the family. He and his wife enjoyed traveling and attending the performing arts.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, their children and spouses, and six grandchildren. 

No memorial service is planned at this time. Contributions in his memory can be made to the CU Schools Foundation or the Champaign Public Library Foundation.