CHICAGO - U.S. District Judge James B. Moran who served for three decades on the federal bench in Chicago died Tuesday. He was 78.

Moran died after a long illness, said his son John Moran, of Washington.

He was born in Evanston and grew up in Escanaba, Mich. Moran was graduated from the University of Michigan and was graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. He also served in the Army, including service in Korea from 1952 to 1954.

Moran was a member of the Illinois General Assembly for one term in 1965-66 and worked closely with lawmakers from the Democratic Party's liberal independent wing.

President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the federal bench in 1979 and he served as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for five years before stepping down and taking senior status in 1995.