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Patricia (Trish) Koehler Senneff graduated from Newman in 1977. In addition to being an outstanding student, she was a member of the first girls’ volleyball and track teams. She was National Honor Society President, an Illinois State Scholar and was named Most Valuable Player and All Conference in volleyball.
In 1981 she graduated with honors from Aurora University with a double major in Political Science and Writing and Language. While at Aurora, she was Editor of the Aurora Borealis, the student newspaper. She also earned a variety of journalism and writing awards, was the third-place winner of the Art Award and, had original poetry included in the AU student publication.
Trish then enrolled in law school at Drake University; she graduated with her Juris Doctor Degree in 1984. At Drake she was the winner of two American Bar Association national writing awards, Editor-in-Chief of the Gavel, the law school newspaper, Editor of the law school’s annual report, Dean’s Service Award winner, President’s Award winner, Who’s Who Among American Law Students, honorary columnist for the Des Moines Register legal bulletin and member of the Student-Faculty Relations Committee.
Her law career began in 1985 as Assistant State’s Attorney. She was in private practice from 1997-2012 when she was elected Whiteside County State’s Attorney, the first female to hold that position. In 2016, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously appointed her to the Whiteside County Circuit Court, again the first female to hold that position. In 2019, she was appointed Whiteside County Presiding Circuit Court Judge, the first female presiding judge in the 14th Circuit, the position she currently holds. She was appointed by the Chief Judge of the 14th Circuit to serve as Co-Chair of the Illinois Judges Association and Conference of Chief Judges 2022 School Supplies Initiative. She was also the first female president of the Whiteside County Bar Association.
As part of her appointment to the Circuit Court, she had to interview with the Illinois Supreme Court. Prior to the interview she had been hit by a car, helicoptered to a trauma unit and undergone surgery. The day of her interview she arrived with her arm in a sling with bruising from head to toe. Needless to say, she was apprehensive about what the court would think of her ability to do the job. Fortunately for Trish, the justice who interviewed her had also been in a serious accident and confined to a wheelchair. He told her he had no concerns that her physical injuries would affect her job performance and she was approved for the 14th Circuit position.
Trish’s professional achievements include developing the Whiteside County Victim Impact Panel, the Juvenile Justice Council and the Whiteside County Drug Court. She also instituted a number of measures to secure the solvency of the Whiteside County child advocacy center, April House.
In her spare time….Trish is involved in a myriad of volunteer activities including, Special Olympics, Rotary Club, CGH Medical Center Hearing Officer, Whiteside County Honor Flight member and three time guardian, Crimestoppers Board member, Northwest Illinois Criminal Justice Committee Board member, YMCA board member, YWCA Women of Achievement Luncheon Committee, Taste of Fiesta, Harvest Hammer, Paint the Town and Pumpkin Dash volunteer, Past President of Sacred Hear Pastoral Council and many others.
In 2015, Trish received the Women of Achievement Crete Dillon Bowman Award for community service. Self Help Enterprises named her Volunteer of the Year in 2019. Trish is a strong supporter of Newman; she has sponsored the Trish Senneff college scholarship for the past ten years. Not one to remain idle during the pandemic, she learned to crochet lap blankets by watching YouTube; she has since donated 35 to local nursing, assisted living and special living facilities.
Trish is the daughter of Jack and Carol Koehler and was a caregiver as they grew older and transitioned to assisted living centers. She visited them frequently and attended to their needs until they passed away in 2018 and 2019.
Kim Koehler Freitag nominated her sister with these words, “she is an outstanding example of a person who has served her community and distinguished herself with a number of female firsts. She has served on boards that benefit the Catholic and larger communities and strives to improve every organization she serves.”
Trish retired in December 2024 but remains active at St. Mary’s Parish and in the community. She finished crocheting her 70th. blanket and works to fund materials for the Newman Prayer Garden. She marked 15 years as a volunteer at the Self Help Pancake Breakfast and is still a member of the Whiteside County Honor Flight Committee. She was a team member on the Governance Domain for Newman’s Strategic Plan and was recently named co-chair at St. Mary’s for the Diocesan Capital Campaign.
Trish has broken barriers her entire life; physical in recovering from the car accident and social as a member of Newman’s first girls’ sports teams and later in her career as an attorney and judge. She is an outstanding example of excellence in many areas: athletics and academics as well as journalism, the arts and the law. She is a trailblazer and a role model for the students at Newman, female and male alike.
