By AP/KWMU
Chicago – Appellate Court Judge Anne Burke is the newest member of the Illinois Supreme Court.
She's replacing Mary Ann McMorrow, who was the first woman to serve on the high court.
Burke spoke Thursday before more than 200 friends, family members and Illinois notables -- who packed a courtroom at the Daley Center in Chicago for her installation ceremony.
She credited her success to the support of family and friends. And Burke called McMorrow a "kindred soul" who has been her hero as a trail-blazing woman in the field of law.
Other speakers at the event included former Illinois Governors Jim Edgar and Jim Thompson.
In addition to her work on the appeals court, Burke headed a national panel that investigated the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
And under Edgar, she was special counsel to the state's child welfare agency.