Richard A. Runde is a native of Teutopolis, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1974 with a degree in history. Thereafter, he attended John Marshall Law School where he graduated with a Juris Doctorate in 1977. He returned to his home area after law school and accepted a position with the Law Office of F. Ronald Ealy before accepting a position as Assistant State’s Attorney in 1979. He was elected Effingham County State’s Attorney in 1984. He later became a member of the firm of Meyer, Keller & Runde, then partnered with Rick Keller in the Keller & Runde firm in 1993. The two maintained that practice until merging with Orr Law, LLC in 2015.

Dick concentrates his practice in criminal defense and provate. He served as Effingham County Conflicts Public Defender for approximately 20 years. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and Lion’s Club while also serving on the Board of Directors for the Teutopolis State Bank.

Married to Deb Jansen Runde, a nurse at St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital, Dick is the father of five children: Julie Althoff (Josh) who is a Special Educational teacher at St. Anthony Schools, Dennis Runde (Kim) who is a carpenter for Mette Construction, Ted Runde who is employed with Vantage Technologies, Tim Runde who is a carpenter for Mette Construction, and Ann Runde who is a senior at Teutopolis High School. He and his wife have seven grandchildren.