Kane County Judges Head to School

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On February 13, 10 judges from the Kane County Sixteenth Judicial Circuit visited 17 schools to read books to hundreds of students. As a literacy project of the Illinois Judges Association (IJA) and in conjunction with the celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, these judges dressed in their black robes and read to children in elementary schools throughout Kane County.

The reading program is aimed at children in grades K-4 to encourage the appreciation, value and enjoyment of reading. The judges read a book, discussed it with students, and then answered questions posed by the students about their jobs as trial judges.

“We want to thank all of the schools that invited us into their classrooms.  Every judge had a wonderful time interacting with the students and sharing their love of reading," said Chief Judge Clint Hull. 

Kane County Judges Bianca Camargo, Reginald Campbell, Rene Cruz, Bradley David, Clint Hull, Julio Cesar Valdez, Keith Johnson, Michael Noland and Judge Sandra Parga traveled to 17 different schools and visited 68 classrooms throughout Kane County.  Judge Parga worked with the Kane County Regional Office of Education to coordinate the visits. ​

This first annual literacy project included over 100 judges from across the state who read and then donated 2,000 books. This project is the latest in a series of community programs undertaken by the IJA that include “Worries of the World Wide Web," a program created by Kane County Judges Clint Hull and Susan Boles.  The program addresses the increasing problem of cyberbullying, electronic harassment, and sexting/pornography.  Information on these and other programs can be found on the IJA website at https://ija.memberclicks.net/in-school-programs.

The Illinois Judges Association is a membership organization of 1,250 active and retired judges whose purpose is to foster public confidence in the independence of the judiciary, provide services and education to its members, and information about court operations to the public. Funding for the book donations was made possible by a grant from the Illinois Judges Foundation.

SOURCE:  16th Judicial Circuit media release.