James A. McCartney (1835–1911) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th Attorney General of Illinois from 1881 to 1885.

McCartney moved to Galva, Illinois in 1859 and practiced law there until the Civil War broke out.

After recovering his health with a visit to Lake Superior, he again entered the service in October 1862 as First Lieutenant in Company G, 112th Illinois Infantry, commanded by Col. Thomas J. Henderson.

[6] A series of twenty-two columns about his life gleaned from those letters was written by Wasson Lawrence and appeared in the Wayne County Press in the 1960s.

During his term as the Attorney General, he worked to institute the Chicago Lake Front suits,[1] culminating in the court case Illinois Central Railroad Co. v.

After serving as Attorney General, McCartney continued to practice law in Springfield, Illinois.