Christine Downs, a Geneva resident who spent a dozen years working for the Kane County State's Attorney's Office, has been appointed as an associate judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit.

Downs worked as an assistant state's attorney in Kane County, starting in 1997. She then became an associate with the law offices of Collison and O'Connor in Chicago. She will take the bench on Feb. 4. According to a news release issued by the 16th Judicial Circuit, she was selected from a field of 36 candidates.

Downs said becoming a judge is a goal of many attorneys, "and I certainly was one of them."

"I can't tell you how honored and excited I am to be chosen," she said.

She worked in the criminal and civil divisions at the state's attorney's office, and she also has worked on many types of cases in private practice.

Downs received her bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and her law degree from Loyola University in 1997. She is a member of the Kane County Bar Association, as well as the U.S. District Court and the Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar.

Doug Naughton, court administrator for Kane County, said Downs will be rotating, every three months, into a courtroom at the Kane County Judicial Center and also will be a "floater" judge who will preside over courts when the sitting judge is on vacation.