Judge to read to local youth as part of ‘Judges Go to School Day’

In conjunction with the February celebration of the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln, Christine Cody, Associate Judge for the 18th Judicial Circuit-DuPage County, will deliver a program to pre-kindergarten and elementary school students, reading a story about Abraham Lincoln and talking to students about being a lawyer and a judge.

Judge Cody will deliver programs on Monday, Feb. 12, at the Indian Boundary YMCA in Downers Grove and Meadowview Elementary School in Woodridge.

A project of the Illinois Judges Association, the reading program is aimed at children in grades K-4 to encourage the appreciation, value and enjoyment of reading. Judges dressed in their black robes will make classroom appearances, and read the book and discuss its intersection with history and the law. The book will be donated to the school library.

“Literacy has been a core value for me since I was a college student. Before I was a lawyer, before I was a judge, I was volunteering to tutor with various organizations in my community,” Cody said. “Reading is important to me. By sharing the story of Illinois’ most famous lawyer with students and talking to them about our justice system and our history, this project aims to inspire some of our youngest Illinois students.”

Surveys by the Annie E. Casey Foundation have found that a significant percentage of fourth-graders from low-income families are not reading at grade level. Further, children who are proficient readers by the end of third grade have a greater chance to graduate from high school and become economically self-sufficient adults.

The project is the latest in a series of community programs undertaken by the Illinois Judges Association that include the IJA’s Page It Forward reading and tutoring program.