Yesterday, it was announced that Ronda Coleman of Urbana would be hired as the next judge in Champaign County, its first African-American judge and its fifth female judge. According to The News-Gazette, Coleman is a veteran prosecutor, spending her time in C-U as a Federal attorney for the Central District.
Out of 25 applicants, Coleman was chosen – and while this may seem rather typical – an expereince lawyer becoming a judge, that is – Coleman is breaking into an establishment continually controlled by white males, showing that Champaign County is continually striving towards representative diversity.