Nordberg was born in Evanston, Illinois in June 1926. He studied at Carleton College and served in the United States Navy during World War II, from 1944 to 1946, as an Electronic Technician Mate Third Class. In 1950, Nordberg received a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and thereafter worked in private practice in Chicago, Illinois from 1950 to 1976. He was a Magistrate of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois from 1957 to 1964 and also worked during this period as a district attorney of Wilmette Park, Illinois from 1958 to 1976. Nordberg worked as a village attorney of Glenview, Illinois between 1961 and 1965 and held the same occupation at Morton Grove, Illinois from 1969 to 1974. He was an arbitrator for the American Bar Association from 1970 to 1975. Nordberg began serving as a Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois from 1976 to 1982.[2]
