Second District Appellate Court Justice Donald C. Hudson passed away at his home early today, April 11, 2023, following a courageous battle with cancer. He became an associate judge in 1993, was elected as circuit judge in 2000 and became Chief Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit in 2004. He served on the Second Appellate Court since 2009.
“This is a huge loss to Illinois and our judiciary. Don has been a leader in so many ways and he really shined when it came to education and ethics. The Court frequently called on him to bring people together for a consensus on a difficult topic,” Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis said. “He will be remembered as a bright and thoughtful person who was a pleasure to be around. I will miss him dearly.”
Justice Hudson was born and raised in Chicago. He received a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University and a Juris Doctorate degree from John Marshall Law School. He was appointed to the bench as an associate judge in 1993, and in 2000 he was elected to the position of circuit judge. In December 2004, Justice Hudson was elected to the position of Chief Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, and he was reelected Chief Judge in 2006.
In January 2005, Justice Hudson was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to be the Chair of the Supreme Court's Statewide Committee on Criminal Law and Probation Administration. In 2006 and 2007, he was reappointed by the Supreme Court as Chair of that Committee. Justice Hudson has also served as a faculty member for the Illinois Education Conference and was very active in teaching Education Conference classes. Justice Hudson was appointed to the Judicial Inquiry Board in April 2007 and was elected Chair of the Board in June 2008. In December 2008, he was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to be the Chair of a Special Supreme Court Committee whose mandate is to codify the law of evidence in the State of Illinois.
Justice Hudson also served on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section Council and served several terms as the Chairman of the Kane County Bar Association’s Criminal Law Committee.
A visitation will be held on Sunday, April 16 from 1-7 p.m. at Malone Funeral Home, 324 E. State Street, Geneva. A funeral mass will be held on Monday, April 17 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Peter Catholic Church, 1891 Kaneville Road in Geneva. More information is available on the Malone Funeral Home website.