WAUKEGAN, IL--(Marketwired - Apr 5, 2016) -  Northern States Financial Corporation (OTCQB: NSFC) (the "Company"), holding company for NorStates Bank (the "Bank"), an FDIC insured financial institution, today announced that Judge George Bridges and Mr. Joel Leonard have been appointed as directors of the Company to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders. The addition of Judge Bridges and Mr. Leonard increases the number of directors to ten members. Judge Bridges and Mr. Leonard will also serve as directors of NorStates Bank.

Judge Bridges received his B.A. degree from National-Louis University with Honors, and his Juris Doctorate degree from IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1987. Judge Bridges was appointed an Associate Judge in 1995. In 2012, he was appointed a Circuit Judge by the Illinois Supreme Court and was elected to his position in November 2014. Judge Bridges spent the majority of his twenty-one years in the judiciary in the Criminal Felony Division. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Presiding Judge of the Felony Division, the Co-Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Seminar Series Committee, a member of the Supreme Court Committee on Education and on the Supreme Court's Juvenile Justice Sub-Committee. In the years before his appointment, he was employed as a law enforcement officer, where he twice served as the Chief of Police for the City of Waukegan. He also spent a number of years as a prosecutor with the Lake County State's Attorney's Office and a period of time in private practice.

Mr. Leonard received his B.S. degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1981. Mr. Leonard spent the majority of his career focused on the management of portfolio positions and risk, as well as trading and hedging review and evaluation. He served as a Market Maker in Equity Derivatives on the CBOE in Chicago, Illinois, was a managing member of The Advent Fund in Chicago, Illinois, and was a partner with Cornerstone Trading Group in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Leonard is currently a partner with Golden Horseshoe Holdings in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serves as an Investment Advisor for Balanced Asset Strategies in Chicago, Illinois, and is a Partner and Portfolio Manager with DCO Capital Management in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Leonard also serves as Director for NEMI Northern Energy & Mining, Inc. in Vancouver, British Columbia.

"I am pleased that we have added Joel Leonard and George Bridges to the Board of Directors," said Allan Jacobs, Chairman of the Board of Northern States Financial Corporation. "Mr. Leonard brings a wealth of experience with his knowledge of the marketplace and his insight, especially in dealing with investments. Judge Bridges, having just retired from the bench, will be replacing Charles W. Smith who has been appointed his replacement on the bench. With his involvement in the community and his legal experience, Judge Bridges will strengthen the leadership of our institution."

Northern States Financial Corporation is the holding company for NorStates Bank, a full-service commercial bank with eight branches in Lake County, Illinois. NorStates Bank is the successor to financial institutions dating to 1919. NorStates Bank serves the populations of northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin.

Forward-Looking Information
This release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties may include, but are not necessarily limited to, fluctuations in interest rates, inflation, government regulations, general economic conditions, competition within the business areas in which the Company conducts its operations including the real estate market in Illinois, and other factors beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results for subsequent interim periods or for the entire year to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which reflect management's beliefs, expectations and assumptions only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update statements to reflect new information or subsequent events or circumstances.