Sullivan has received a Medal of Excellence from Loyola's law school, a John Paul Stevens Award from the CBA, a Constitutional Rights Foundation Bill of Rights in Action Award, a Civitas Award from the American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities, and an Illinois Public Defender Association award for service to accused indigents.
Sharon Eiseman makes impact on opportunity for women
By Hilary Anderson
Arlington Heights attorney Sharon Eiseman, a 2004 Laureate of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers, is making a difference in the lives of others.
"This award is very humbling," said Eiseman, who is of counsel to Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn. "I never set out to be a role model. I just wanted women to take the necessary steps to become active in their community, pursue career options that could benefit them and generally advocate on their own behalf."
Her positive impact on people's lives blossomed over time. It has been fostered by life experiences, an innate concern for others and the inspiration of her mother.
"My mother came from a poor family with huge disadvantages," Eiseman said. "I don't know where she got the inner-strength to be a role model for me. She had such a strong faith and would never give up. My mother convinced me that I could do whatever I wanted in life. She was a terrific inspiration!"
Eiseman began her professional life as a high school English teacher. That was followed by a stint in mental health, working with a group of adolescents. Finding neither job fulfilling, she changed her career path and attended The DePaul University College of Law while raising two daughters.
"I didn't feel that I was having the kind of impact on people and systems that I would like to have had," Eiseman said. "I saw problems and thought that as a lawyer I could make a greater difference. The idea of working in the legal field also seemed more intellectually challenging, the environment more appealing."
Eiseman served as an in-house counsel to the City of Evanston, and practiced later in the Cook County state's attorney's office and at the firm of Ancel, Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Rolek.
Her time working in the education and mental health fields had made her more aware that women were not equal partners in cultural and societal pursuits.
"As a lawyer, I became very active in women's movements," she recalled. "The opportunities became obvious, ones that could help influence and improve women's lives in the community and advocate their participation in the legal profession."
Eiseman put her thoughts into action and joined associations of attorneys she felt were committed to change the status quo of women, especially those who were not full participants in the economic lives of their communities.
"It's great to partner with these groups and articulate the many inequities there are," she said. "Working together we help make changes so women won't be deprived of the advantages available to them.
"We lobby legislators and make public officials aware of what actions they can take. We try to change laws that don't work and implement those that should be put on the books."
Eiseman has compiled a laundry list of public service projects and accomplishments. They include her roles as a past president of the Women's Bar Association of Illinois and former chair of the ISBA Committee on Women and the Law. She serves on the Local Government Law Section Council and the Committee on Legislation.
She is particularly proud of two recent projects. One is the Joint Task Force on Issues Affecting Women as They Age, which she co-founded as an effort of the Women's Bar and Chicago Bar. The other is the annual Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Project.
"The Issues Affecting Women as They Age initiative is a multi-disciplinary one," Eiseman said. "I like the idea that we lawyers are working with other professionals, legislators and community activists to identify issues women have to confront as they age.
"We must educate women about their rights and how to advocate for themselves," she said. "We must do what we can to affect needed change. We have tackled some heavy items. Social Security reform options are high on our list. We are concerned about its privatization and subsequent impact on women."
Currently, "we want to educate employers about hiring older women," Eiseman said. "We also talk about issues they face, like living alone and becoming caretakers for their parents. The task force also studies ways to amend the Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act so that more factors are considered when maintenance is determined.
Eiseman's other special project, Women Everywhere, is a coalition of women's bar groups that include the ISBA Committee on Women and the Law and the Committee on Minority and Women Participation.
One day each spring (Friday, May 14, this year), attorneys of varying talents volunteer at 30 to 40 community agencies that serve women in need, particularly victims of domestic violence.
"We promote women's economic independence," Eiseman said. "That could include job training for women who are either not employed or underemployed, and likely have not had the educational opportunities to become independent."
The Cook County Circuit Court will be host for a March reception to inform other legal professionals about the program and to secure more volunteers.
"We now have law firms and judges participating," she said. "The purpose is to connect the legal community with people in the neighborhoods. It creates an awareness of needs. We encourage everyone to work on the project."
Also on her agenda is an effort to encourage more women to go into public office. "We are lucky in Cook County to have so many women who are elected officials, but we need more," she said.
Whatever she's doing, Eiseman is never far from thinking about how to help others. "There's a lot to do if you keep your eyes open and notice what's going on around you," Eiseman said.
Charles Palmer has combined legal career, public service
Laureate Charles L. Palmer of Champaign, a 1957 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, is of counsel to Flynn, Palmer & Tague, the firm he joined in 1964 after stints as assistant state's attorney and assistant city attorney.
A past president of the Champaign County Bar Association, Palmer has been a special prosecutor, an interim state's attorney and an interim public defender during his career as a trial lawyer for 46 years except for military service.
A member of the ISBA Assembly for six years, he served on the Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council and the Committee on Public Relations. He is a Charter Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a charter member of the Parkland College Foundation.
An American Arbitration Association arbitrator, Palmer is a former board member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and a member of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation.
He has been an attorney for the Champaign school board and special trial counsel for the University of Illinois for 30 years each. He served on the federal court's Magistrate Judge Selection Committee.
Palmer was president of the Champaign Board of Fire and Police Commissioners for three years, and he has been named Boss of the Year twice by the Champaign County Legal Secretaries Association.
"In his willingness to be a mentor and a role model, Charlie has provided an invaluable service, influencing one young lawyer at a time," Holly Jordan of Mahomet wrote in her nomination letter.
"He teaches and demonstrates that one can be a zealous advocate, a great negotiator, a skilled trial lawyer, and at the same time, a model of civility, fairness and collegiality."
Senior Judge Harold Baker of U.S. District Court for the Central District added that Palmer "is one great guy and a lawyer of the highest integrity and competence."
Retired appellate justice Frederick S. Green said Palmer is "respectful of the court and persuasive. He is unique because he is forceful yet always professional."
James Wham was inspiration for birth of Laureate idea
By Stephen Anderson
"This honor you have given me today means more to me than any I have ever received, because it comes from lawyers and judges - and I never met one I didn't like!"
Those words still ring in the ears of many ISBA members who attended the Annual Meeting in St. Louis in 1998. They were in the response of James B. Wham of Centralia as recipient of the General Practice Section Tradition of Excellence Award.
"This is still the greatest profession of them all, because it always deals with the rights and duties of man," he continued. That became the spark that kindled formation of an Academy of Illinois Lawyers to recognize our state's icons of lawyering.
A member of the Academy's 2004 class of Laureates, Wham is a partner in Wham & Wham. He graduated in 1946 from the University of Illinois College of Law after service as an Army Air Corps major in Europe and Africa during World War II.
His 58-year legal career includes having been a judge of the Court of Claims for eight years, an assistant attorney general for eight years, and a member of the Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions.
A lifelong Republican and frequent speaker at civic and patriotic events, he ran for election in 1990 as the Jim Wham Party for Congress and the Flag. He ran in the first Appellate Court election after judicial reform in 1964 but lost in the Lyndon Johnson landslide.
Wham is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation, and a member of the International Society of Barristers.
In his Laureate nomination letter, 4th Circuit Judge Patrick J. Hitpas said that "Jim Wham enjoys being a lawyer more than anybody I know. He exemplifies everything good about lawyers and the legal profession."
Wham's 1998 speech to the ISBA in St. Louis concluded, "The greatest epitaph of a lawyer is this: He never quit; he just wore out and died, doing something for somebody else." An active trial lawyer at age 85, he shows no signs of wearing out.
Anthony Fornelli an admired civic leader, willing mentor
By Leonard F. Amari
One of the most respected contributing members of the Chicagoland community, and one of the true giants in the Justinian Society, has been chosen as a Laureate of the prestigious Academy of Illinois Lawyers.
For all his contributions to the community and the legal profession, it is appropriate that Anthony J. Fornelli be chosen for this career achievement recognition.
The Academy honors lawyers who have established and maintained the highest principles of the profession as demonstrated by their pervasive records of service to the law and the public and, not least, by their example. They are beacons to others who seek to uphold the highest standards in the practice of law.
Being involved in our legal community over the past 35 years, I have come to know and admire many leaders, but none more so than Tony Fornelli.
In 1969, I went to my first meeting of the Justinians, an association of Italian lawyers. Presiding at that meeting was then-president Tony Fornelli, who immediately overwhelmed me with his obvious leadership abilities, wonderful charisma and great inner strength.
I looked at him with awe that has since turned into admiration, great affection and respect. He has been a giving mentor to me and to many younger lawyers and a true leader of our legal organization and Italian-American people.
When Dan Walker was elected governor in 1972, because of the support of the Italian-American community, financial and otherwise, Tony was appointed to a cabinet-level position as director of the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions, which regulates banks and other financial entities.
He served in that position with great distinction, being sure whenever possible to spread that opportunity around to other lawyers and worthy individuals. A goodly handful of Italian-Americans served by appointment as administrators and hearing officers in disputes with regulated entities.
In 1984, Tony Fornelli was chosen to be the recipient of the prestigious Justinian Society Award of Excellence, joining other recipients of the caliber of cardinal, governor, attorney general, congressman, Supreme Court justice and the like.
From 1979 to 1996, Tony was unselfishly responsible for putting together Festa Italiana on Chicago's lakefront for the Chicago Amerital Chapter of UNICO National at great personal expense in time and resources.
He served as president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian-Americans in 1974-75 and was a major influence in this wonderful umbrella organization many years before and since.
Tony always has and continues to consider himself first and foremost a lawyer and a Justinian, although over the past decade or so things of greater importance have taken most of his time and attention.
It wasn't so many years ago, for example, that the Italian-American community was about to lose its communication vehicle, Fra Noi, our vitally important newspaper. Tony joined forces with other leaders to save Fra Noi, which now flourishes.
After the last federal decennial census, when the only two U.S. congressmen to be redistricted out office were Italian-Americans Frank Annunzio and Marty Russo Tony Fornelli heard the call, along with a handful of others, and was a founding board member of the Italian American Political Coalition.
During 1999-2000, Tony took the IAPC to even higher levels as its president after the outstanding work of his predecessors, and he continues to give generously of his time and resources on the IAPC board.
A few short years ago, when the Scalabrini Fathers decided to vacate the 17-acre site that served as its seminary in Stone Park and hand it over to the Italian-American community, Tony Fornelli was among those who took the lead to transform this precious resource into Casa Italia, a home for activities and functions. Tony was the third chairman of the Casa Italia board, for which he enlisted many Justinians and continues to serve.
I don't think I could name four or five other men and women who have done more for the legal profession or our ethnic community than Tony Fornelli. He has served, especially to me, as a role model, mentor and friend, and certainly one of the true leaders of our community for well over four decades.
Patrick Hughes was stalwart of public defense bar for decades
Laureate Patrick J. Hughes Jr. of Springfield retired in December 2002 after nine years as first assistant state appellate defender. He was the office's legal director from 1979 to 1993 and legislative liaison, and a past president of the Illinois Public Defender Association.
Hughes "was a relentless advocate for improving the quality of representation given to the indigent," said Marc Christopher Loro, chair of the ISBA Committee on Government Lawyers, in his letter of nomination.
State Appellate Defender Theodore Gottfried, an Academy Laureate, said Hughes' "deep interest in training public defenders stems from his feeling that lawyers who represent indigent defendants should provide outstanding professional representation."
A 1960 graduate of the Loyola University School of Law, Hughes is secretary of the Committee on Government Lawyers. A past chair