It is one of the busiest federal trial courts in the United States, with famous cases including those of Al Capone and the Chicago Eight.

[2] The court's jurisdiction is split into an eastern division, including Cook, DuPage, McHenry, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, Lake, and Will counties, with its sessions held in Chicago and Wheaton; and a western division, including Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago counties, with its sessions held in Freeport and Rockford.

The Northern District of Illinois, which contains the entire Chicago metropolitan area, accounts for 1,531 of the 1,828 public corruption convictions in the state between 1976 and 2012, almost 84%, also making it the federal district with the most public corruption convictions in the nation between 1976 and 2012.

[5] As of December 5, 2024[update]: Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first.