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Judge George Bridges took an unusual path to the judicial bench. Bridges began as a Waukegan police officer and attended law school at night.
A child of Chicagos rough neighborhoods, Bridges credits his father with helping him avoid the gangs that surrounded him as an adolescent.
"I know that I could have just as easily ended up in court but on the other side of this bench without the discipline and encouragement my father gave me," Bridges asserted. "He is truly my hero."
Bridges took courses at three different colleges before earning his bachelors degree in psychology from National Lewis University in 1980. Throughout his college career, he worked at various jobs and helped his wife raise their seven children.
He was hired by the Waukegan Police Department in 1975 and worked his way up through the ranks, eventually becoming chief twice. He was even shot in the hand during an arrest during that climb up the...