Born in
Beardstown, Illinois, Mills received a
Bachelor of Arts degree from
Illinois College in 1951, and a
Juris Doctor from
Mercer University School of Law in 1957. He was in the
United States Army Reserve,
JAG Corps from 1952 to 1954, achieving the rank of
colonel. He was in private practice in
Virginia, Illinois from 1957 to 1966, and was a
state's attorney of
Cass County, Illinois from 1960 to 1964. He was a circuit judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Illinois in Virginia from 1966 to 1976, and then a justice of the
Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District in
Springfield from 1976 to 1985. He received a
Master of Laws from the
University of Virginia School of Law in 1982.
Federal judicial service On June 25, 1985, Mills was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan to a seat on the
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois vacated by Judge
J. Waldo Ackerman. Mills was confirmed by the
United States Senate on July 19, 1985, and received his commission on July 22, 1985. He assumed
senior status on October 7, 1997. == Personal life and death ==