Hon. Debra D. Schafer is an associate judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois in Winnebago County. She was appointed to the bench by the circuit judges of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in 2017, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Fernando L. Engelsma (Ret.).
The 17th Judicial Circuit includes Boone and Winnebago Counties.
Prior to her appointment, Schafer was a partner at Schafer DeRango & Cain, LLP, a position she held since 2017. She joined the firm’s predecessor, Sreenan & Cain, P.C., as an attorney in 1996. Her practice focused on state and federal criminal defense. Before that, Schafer worked as an assistant state’s attorney with the Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office (1991 to 1996).
She has also taught Advanced Trial Advocacy as an adjunct professor at Northern Illinois University College of Law. Schafer began teaching there in 2008.
She received a B.S. in criminal justice from Illinois State University in 1988. Schafer went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Illinois College of Law in 1991. She was admitted to practice in Illinois (1991) and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1999).
Schafer has held memberships with the Winnebago County Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.
She has also acted as a mentor for the Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program.