Spirit of the law. (Mary Ann McMorrow: in person).

IT'S HARD TO DESCRIBE MARY ANN MCMORROW WITHOut using the phrase "the first woman." She was the first woman to prosecute major criminal cases in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office and the first woman elected to the Illinois Supreme Court. Now, as the first woman to serve as chief justice of that court, she is also the first woman to head any of the three branches of state government in Illinois.

But McMorrow downplays all those "firsts."

"I never really felt I was a pioneer," she says. "I just did whatever job I was given to the best of my ability. Of course, when opportunities were there, I took advantage of them. But I'm not a militant feminist. I always believed we could get further ahead by building consensus rather than by confrontation."

Even as the only woman in her law school graduating class of 1953, McMorrow seemed oblivious to her unique status. "I never noticed any pressure for being the only woman," she says of her years at Loyola University in Chicago. "And I never noticed any discriminatory acts of any kind."

Although not too many young women were choosing legal careers in the 1940s and `50s, perhaps it is not so surprising a girl with a penchant for argument and debate with her friends from the all-girls Immaculata High School ended up as a state supreme court judge. Her mother noticed her daughter's skills and suggested young Mary Ann consider becoming a lawyer.

McMorrow credits her parents and the Catholic Church with instilling in her the values of justice and fairness as well as the desire to serve the common good. She says her northwest side Chicago parishes and two decades of Catholic education helped form her social conscience, as did thought-provoking lectures by Chicago Inter-Student Catholic Action.

She chose the law "as an opportunity to do good, to help people," she says, but never expected to end up in the district attorney's office. After taking a leave of absence to raise her daughter, she was elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1976. She joined the Illinois Appellate Court in 1985 and was elected to the Supreme Court in 1992. She began her tenure as chief justice last September.

Although the job of top judge includes plenty of administrative duties, including responsibility for the statewide judicial system of more than 900 judges, McMorrow refuses to lose sight of the real reason the law exists--to serve people.

"The law is first and foremost about human beings," she says. "We're not dealing with a bunch of rules in books; we're dealing with human beings. When people come to court, they come as a last resort. Our decisions profoundly affect their lives."

At her formal installation as chief justice, McMorrow touched on her agenda, including several long-held priorities, such as legal services for the poor, juvenile justice, and child custody cases. She also mentioned the emerging area of elder law. "We need to make sure elderly people are not being abused, mistreated, or taken advantage of," she says.

Another concern is the death penalty process. Although she refuses to speak about subjects that may come before her court, she has gone on record about the importance of giving the most severe scrutiny possible to death penalty cases. The Supreme Court has upheld death sentences, although McMorrow notes that she has never sentenced anyone to death. "When judges take their oath of office, they swear to uphold the law whatever it may be--whether they like the law or not," she says.

McMorrow admits that when faced with a particularly difficult decision, she often turns to God, sometimes praying to her deceased husband as an intercessor. "Many, if not most of our decisions are extremely difficult, so I often pray over these things," she says. "I don't pray for God to tell me what to do. I pray for wisdom."

MARY ANN McMORROW CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE ILLINIOS SUPREME COURT

PARISH: St. Mary of the Woods, Chicago

PERSON WHO HELPED SHAPE MY FAITH: My mother, Emily. She was a deep[y religious woman.

BEST BOOK I'VE READ THIS YEAR: Father Mac by Tom Roeser 

IF I WERE POPE I'D: IF I WERE POPE I'D: Meet with all the priests in groups to get their views on how to strengthen the church and the priesthood.

THE BEST ADVICE MY PARENTS GAVE ME: Always be nice to everybody, and look for the best in them.

THE WORST ADVICE MY PARENTS GAVE ME: Stay close to home.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: Pensive, open-minded, and eager to try new things.

SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME: I enjoy a good laugh.

HEIDI SCHLUMPF, associate editor at U.S. CATHOLIC.