Prior to 1872 the county was represented by a district attorney for multiple counties. Until a 1926 Illinois Supreme Court case from Moultrie County, state’s attorneys were not required to be lawyers.
| 1872-1880 | Cassins C. Clark |
| 1880-1884 | William Hollins Shinn |
| 1884-1888 | Samuel M. Smyser |
| 1888-1892 | John E. Jennings |
| 1892-1896 | Jonathan Meeker |
| 1896-1904 | W.K. Whitfield |
| 1904-1908 | Art W. Lux |
| 1908-1916 | J.K. Martin |
| 1916-1920 | C.R. Patterson |
| 1920-1924 | Merrill F. Wehinhoff |
| 1924-1926 | A.A. Brown |
| 1926-1932 | R.B. Foster (Brown ruled ineligible to serve because he was not a lawyer) |
| 1932-1940 | Robert W. Martin |
| 1940-1944 | Rodney A. Scott |
| 1944-1964 | Joseph C. Munch |
| 1964-1968 | Vernon E. Elder |
| 1968-1971 | Allen Bennett |
| 1971-1980 | Paul L. Stone (Bennett resigned) |
| 1980 | Art Powers, Jr. (Stone resigned) |
| 1980 | Donald Wood (Powers resigned) |
| 1980-1984 | Chris E. Freese |
| 1984-1988 | Paul L. Stone |
| 1988-1992 | John Robinson |
| 1992-1996 | Gail Coil |
| 1996-2000 | Timothy Willis |
| 2000-2004 | Sharon Buckler |
| 2004-2012 | Marvin Hanson |
| 2012-2018 | Jeremy Richey |