EXHIBIT 31.1
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                      NORTHERN STATES FINANCIAL CORPORATION
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I, Fred Abdula, certify that:

1.       I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Northern States
         Financial Corporation;

2.       Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any
         untrue statement of 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 report;

3.       Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
         information included in this quarterly 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 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 and 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 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 report our
                  conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls
                  and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this
                  report based on such evaluation; and

         (d)      Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
                  internal control over financial reporting that occurred during
                  the registrant's first 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, to the registrant's auditors and the
         audit committee of the 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.

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Dated:        May  9, 2005                  By:     /s/ Fred Abdula
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                                                  Fred Abdula
                                                  Chairman of the Board
                                                  of Directors and President