Joseph Phillips (judge)
Joseph Phillips was an American politician and judge from Tennessee.
Phillips was the second and last Secretary of Illinois Territory serving from 1816 until 1818. In 1818, upon the admission of Illinois to the union, Phillips was elected the first Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court serving until 1822, when he resigned to run for Governor of Illinois on a pro-slavery platform, and was defeated. After this defeat, he returned to his home state of Tennessee.
