CHICAGO (WLS) -- Federal court officials are speaking out about the rising number of threats against district judges in the wake of several high-profile cases heard and rulings issued by the Northern District Court of Illinois.

In a rare interview about what she views as an existential threat to the integrity of democratic institutions, Chief U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall told the ABC7 Chicago I-Team the number of threats directed toward federal judges has increased year-by-year.

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"I've personally seen with my own judges on the bench, that number of threats increased significantly," Judge Kendall told the I-Team. "The whole concept of our entire democracy is based on the three branches of government, and one branch has to be

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