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Park To Be Renamed For Pioneering Woman Judge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A high-powered lady of a past generation gets her due with a park in her honor, which is set to be dedicated Tuesday afternoon on the city's Near West Side.

The park at Adams and Sangamon streets, now simply called Adams-Sangamon Park, will be renamed for Judge Mary Margaret Bartelme (1866-1954), who was the first woman to be appointed Cook County Public Guardian in 1997, and helped establish the first juvenile court in Chicago.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's John Cody reports

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Bartelme was elected to the Cook County Circuit Court in 1923, and was assigned to the Juvenile Court, according to the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Fioretti notes that Bartelme won the nickname "Suitcase Mary" by giving women leaving the system a suitcase containing clothes and toiletries before they hit the street.

Bartelme Park will be dedicated at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

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