EXHIBIT
31.1








Rule
      13(a) – 14(a) / 15(d) –14(a)
Certification




I, Owen
J. Onsum, certify that:






1.  I have reviewed this
annual report on Form 10-K of First Northern Community Bancorp;






2.  Based on my knowledge,
this annual report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or
omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of
the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with
respect to the period covered by this annual report;






3.Based
on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information
included in this annual report, fairly present in all material respects the
financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as
of, and for, the periods presented in this annual report;




4. The registrant's other certifying
officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and
15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange
Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:




a)  designed such disclosure
controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to
the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by
others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this
annual report is being prepared;




b)designed
such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control
over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide
reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles;




c)  evaluated the
effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and
presented in this annual report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the
disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this
annual report based on such evaluation; and






d)  disclosed in this annual
report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting
that occurred during the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter that has materially
affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s
internal control over financial reporting; and






5.  The registrant's other
certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of
internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the
audit committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the
equivalent functions):






a)  all significant
deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal
control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect
the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
information; and






b)  any fraud, whether or not
material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.













Date:
March 13, 2009




/s/  Owen J.
  OnsumOwen
      J. OnsumPresident
      and Chief Executive
Officer