Hon. Donald C. Hudson 1949-2023
The Honorable Donald C. "Don" Hudson, age 74, of St. Charles, greeted the sunrise for the last time Tuesday morning, April 11, 2023.
He was born January 20, 1949, in Chicago, the son of Albert and Bianca (DePirro) Hudson.
Don is survived by his wife Gerilynn "Geri" Fischer-Hudson; children Sara McGonagle of Freeport and Daniel Hudson of Geneva; Gerilynn's children Laura (Jordan) Burt of Colorado Springs and Pete Byrnes of Los Angeles; grandchildren Joey, Sawyer, Nolan, Emilia, and Weston; siblings Albert Hudson of Naperville, Caryl (Tim) Wolfe of Naperville, and Jan Robinson of Chicago; and many other dear relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Lois Hudson.
Don earned his undergraduate degree from DePaul University, his Juris Doctorate degree from John Marshall Law School and began his law career in Kane County as an assistant state's attorney in 1976. Justice Hudson was appointed to the bench as an associate judge in 1993, and was elected circuit court judge in 2000. He became Chief Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit in 2004. He served on the Second Appellate Court since 2009.
During his career, Justice Hudson was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to be the Chair of the Statewide Committee on Criminal Law and Probation Administration.
Justice Hudson was a faculty member for the Illinois Education Conference and active in teaching Education conference classes. He was appointed to the Judicial Inquiry Board in 2007 and was elected Chair of the Board in 2008. He was also appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to be the Chair of a Special Committee whose mandate was to codify the law of evidence in the State of Illinois.
Justice Hudson was also appointed as a member of the Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices whose mission was to provide guidance and recommendations regarding pretrial reform in the Illinois Criminal Justice System.
Justice Hudson 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.
He was instrumental in establishing the Mental Health Court in Kane County, as well as a free counseling session program for citizens who served on juries for traumatic or violent cases. Justice Hudson received an award from the Ecker Center for Mental Health in Elgin, as well as the Justice Benjamin K. Miller Recognition Award for his commitment to the purpose of the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Councils.
Outside of his professional life, Don had a witty sense of humor and was known to find out your birth sign upon greeting so he could talk to you about your horoscope. He regaled family and friends with his guitar, vocals, and original music and was known to cheer on (or yell at) his beloved Chicago Bears. Don's competitive spirit shone bright in family games of 31 and bocce ball; you always wanted him on your trivia team. His zest for life, warm heart and animated story telling will be greatly missed.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Prairie State Legal Services, 31W001 North Avenue, Suite 200, West Chicago, Illinois 60185 or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22203 would be appreciated.