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Chicago Judge George Leighton Dies At Age 105

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The city is mourning the loss of George Leighton.

Leighton was a giant in Chicago's legal community and has a courthouse named after him.

He was the first African American to serve on the Illinois Appellate Court.

Leighton grew up in Massachusetts and went to Howard University and Harvard Law School.

He was elected Cook County Circuit Court Judge in 1964 and eventually rose to U.S. District Court Judge before retiring and working in a private practice.

Leighton died Wednesday at a veterans hospital in California at the age of 105 after suffering a bout of pneumonia.

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