16th Circuit's 1st black chief judge sworn in
F. Keith Brown, the first black to be elected chief judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit in Kane County, was sworn in Monday afternoon.
A lifelong Elgin resident, Brown is a graduate of Larkin High School and Drake University.
He has been a 16th Circuit judge since 1996, serving at times in felony court trials, family court and, most recently, a civil law jury trials.
Brown, who has been acting chief judge since 2004, replaces former Chief Judge Donald C. Hudson, who recently was appointed to the state appellate court.
Kane County Circuit Court Judge F. Keith Brown oversees the swearing in of other judges after being sworn in Monday in St. Charles as the county's first black chief judge.
John Starks | Staff Photographer