3rd vice president campaign focuses new interest on ISBA
The contested election for third vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association has created new interest in the association among lawyers throughout the state.
The three candidates - Joseph G. Bisceglia, Russell W. Hartigan and John G. O'Brien - have campaigned actively during meetings of regional and ethnic bar groups in many judicial circuits.
President Terrence J. Lavin, who also has traveled the state to facilitate forums of the Special Supreme Court Committee on Professionalism, likened the trio to "barnacles on my boat" in complimentary remarks at the March 26 meeting of the Board of Governors. "This is the greatest thing that has happened to the bar association in years," Lavin said. "They deserve our praise."
They deserve votes, too. Ballots that have been disseminated to ISBA members throughout the state must be marked and returned to the Illinois Bar Center by the close of business Monday, May 10.
The three candidates are members of the ISBA Board of Governors who have served on many other section councils and committees. Bisceglia is a partner in Jenner & Block, Chicago; Hartigan is a name partner in Hartigan & Cuisinier, Chicago; O'Brien is the principal of the Law Offices of John G. O'Brien, Arlington Heights.
The three-way race is expected to generate more votes than the typical 6,000 average when there are only two candidates. In 1997, a three-candidate election tallied 8,414 votes, with Herb Franks topping R. Michael Henderson and Benjamin Edwards.
Also of interest to Cook County members is the campaign of six candidates for three vacancies on the Board of Governors. They are Mauro Glorioso, John G. Locallo, John K. Norris, Kevin E. O'Reilly, Andrea M. Schleifer and Letitia Spunar-Sheats.
Board incumbents who are unopposed for re-election are H. Case Ellis of Crystal Lake (Area II), John E. Thies of Urbana (Area V), and David C. Nelson of Belleville, under-age-37 outside Cook County.
Your one-stop legislative info service: ISBA
The 93rd Illinois General Assembly is in spring session and that means the ISBA legislative staff is hard at work in the state Capitol lobbying for the official ISBA package of bills and monitoring many others.
But the ISBA Legislative Affairs Department also makes sure ISBA members are kept apprised of and have access to the work product of the General Assembly.
Keeping up with case law is, of course, essential to the practice of most lawyers but so is understanding changes in laws made by the Illinois General Assembly. These statutory changes directly respond to recent decisions by the Illinois appellate courts and attorneys ignore or minimize this dynamic at their peril.
For ISBA members, the Legislative Affairs Department staff are the eyes and ears at the Capitol. Staff can also help ISBA members research new Illinois statutes and keep them current on changes.
In fact, free of charge to members is an e-mail service called Legislative Alert. (Sign up at <www.isba.org/Legislative/Legislativealert.asp>).
This service delivers the twice-monthly "Capitol Chronicle" legislative updates to the e-mail inbox of members who sign up. Members may also receive occasional bulletins about important issues and breaking news from the Department. Many amendments have immediate effective dates, so this service can keep ISBA members out of trouble.
In addition, the "Illinois Legislative Info" Web pages at <www.isba.org/Legislative> provide a wealth of information and links, including the Illinois House and Senate schedules, a list of Illinois legislators, a detailed guide on how to research legislative history, Illinois statutes, public acts, bills, the Illinois Constitution, and much more.
Members with questions or who need help negotiating the maze of statutes or legislation in progress, can get help from a live person at the ISBA by calling (800) 252-8908 or (217) 525-1760 and asking for the Legislative Affairs Department.
Membership in the ISBA also gives you an opportunity to get active in the legislative process. Through its committees, sections and staff, ISBA reviews a significant amount of proposed legislation with the goal of passing the good ones and improving or stopping the bad ones.
ISBA members testify on legislation in Springfield and communicate with legislators and legislative staff in this effort. ISBA is always looking for a few good lawyers to help out. It's not only helpful to the Association, but also gives members an interesting and easy way to meet decision-makers in the legislative arena.
If you're interested in participating, call and ask for Jim Covington.
ISBA backs city license-hold amendment
By Stephen Anderson
The ISBA Board of Governors has agreed to support an amendment to the municipal code of Chicago that has been proposed by the State and Local Taxation Section Council.
The amendment would require issuance of a final assessment against a property owner before a tax debt is due, and would prohibit issuance of a notice of violation or cease-and-desist order while an administrative appeal is pending.
While it is unusual for the state bar association to become involved in a municipal issue, section council chair John K. Norris of Chicago assured the Board of Governors on March 26 that the amendment would help firms that have multiple locations in the city and elsewhere in the state.
"The city's license-hold provision for collection of debts was expanded in 1999 to include tax debts not yet assessed or those the city believes may be due," Norris told the board.
"As a result, if Chicago simply suspects that a business owes a tax to the city, it can hold up its licenses and effectively close down the business until the suspected debt is paid," he added.
Calling the provision "a serious due process flaw," Norris pointed out that the only businesses that have their licenses held are those that the city does not have enough cause or evidence to audit and assess.
"The unusual result," he said, "is that those businesses plead to be audited or assessed for taxation so they can get their licenses released and then have the ability to protest the liability."
Stanley R. Kaminski, a former chief assistant city corporation counsel who drafted the proposed State and Local Taxation Section amendment, also was present to explain details to the board.
An associate section newsletter editor, Kaminski said the amendment would "put some fairness and equity" into the city taxation system for small businesses.
The proposal would amend Section 4-4-150(a)(1) on Indebtedness/License Ineligibility to replace "whether or not an assessment has been issued" to "when a final assessment has been issued."
It also would add as paragraph 4-4-150(d)(6): "No notice of violation or cease and desist order shall be issued by the department while there is a pending petition properly submitted pursuant to subsection (d)(2) of this section disputing any claimed outstanding liability."
The Board of Governors approved a motion by Stephen M. Komie to adopt the proposal and submit it to the mayor and corporation counsel. It has been referred to legislative counsel.
Joliet attorney Gary K. Davidson has been appointed by the ISBA Board of Governors to serve as an under-age-35, outside of Cook County, delegate to the American Bar Association.
A member of Mahoney, Silverman & Cross, Davidson will begin his two-year term at the close of the ISBA Annual Meeting in June and will attend the ABA meeting in August in Atlanta.
A 1998 graduate of the Northern Illinois University College of Law who also studied in Belgium and Japan, he was deputy administrator for the 16th Circuit Court before joining the Joliet firm in 2000.
Davidson serves on the ISBA Committee on Bar Services and Activities and is its liaison to the Law Student Division. He chairs the Will County Bar Association New Lawyer/Mentorship Committee.
Illinois lawyers who need more information about the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act have an opportunity to attend an informative brown-bag luncheon seminar without leaving their offices.
The Health Care Section Council has scheduled a teleconference, "HIPAA Update: Dispelling Myths and Answering Questions," from 12 noon to 1:15 p.m. Friday, May 21.
The speakers are Rachel Klugman Seeger of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and David Mayer of the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
They will discuss common misperceptions, interesting nuances and unusual implementation challenges that are faced by health care providers and counsel under the 1996 act. They also will answer questions that have been submitted in advance or raised by attendees.
The Health Care Section Council will meet May 21 in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office, and will make seating available for lawyers who wish to attend the seminar in person. Those who register to participate by teleconference will receive instructions.
Certificates of attendance will be provided on request, but participants must determine whether the program meets MCLE requirements in other states. There is a fee of $20 per connection for teleconferencing.
For registration details and other information, call Trish Ashton at the Illinois Bar Center, (800) 252-8908.
Some disciplined Illinois attorneys who receive temporary suspensions now have 21-day periods of grace in which to deal with pending matters before interrupting their law practices.
The rule change, effective April 1, does not apply to disbarred attorneys or those whose temporary suspensions are subject to further order of the court.
The Illinois Supreme Court on March 23 adopted a new Rule 771 on Finality of Orders and Effective Date of Discipline. The previous Rule 771 on Types of Discipline is now Rule 770.
Rule 771(a) provides that all orders imposing discipline are final when filed by the clerk of the court, except in cases that the court accepts for further consideration under Rule 753(e)(5)(a)(iii).
Rule 771(b) makes disciplinary orders effective when filed by the clerk of the court, "except that orders of suspension for a specified period of time which do not continue until further order of court or any orders of suspension which are stayed, in part, by a period of probation become effective 21 days after the date they are filed..."
Rule 771(c) provides that interim suspension orders imposed under Rules 761 (Conviction of Crime) or 774 become effective when filed by the clerk of the court.
The ISBA Board of Governors voted in September 1999 to join the Chicago Bar Association in support of the proposed rule, at the recommendation of the Committee on the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
The new rules may be viewed on the ISBA Web site, www.isba.org, by accessing the Illinois Courts link.
Two more forums: Cook and Lake
Two more forums on legal professionalism issues among the bench, the bar and the public, will be conducted by the Special Supreme Court Committee on Professionalism with assistance from the ISBA.
Lawyers and judges may make reservations by calling Vicki Runkel, (800) 252-8908. The dates and sites follow. Wednesday, April 21, at 2:30 p.m. at the Chicago Bar Association, sponsored by the ISBA and CBA.
Wednesday, May 5, at 2:30 p.m. at the Ramada Inn, Waukegan, sponsored by the ISBA and the Lake County Bar Association.
Cullerton a trusted mediatorin reforms of death penalty
The ISBA and the Illinois Lawyers' Political Action Committee (LAWPAC) honored State Sen. John J. Cullerton during a Springfield reception March 24.
He was lauded in part for his advocacy and leadership in achieving reforms of the state's capital punishment process. The last in a series of legislative bills designed to correct faults in the system was signed into law on Jan. 20.
A graduate of the Loyola University School of Law and a partner in FagelHaber LLC, Chicago, Cullerton served in the Illinois House for 12 years before his tenure on the Senate began in 1991.
He chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and is a member of the committees on Rules, Financial Institutions, and Insurance and Pensions.
The ISBA presentation was conducted by President-elect Ole Bly Pace III. His remarks follow.
"On behalf of the Illinois State Bar Association, I am honored to present to Sen. John J. Cullerton an ISBA Presidential Award for his legislative efforts in improving the administration of justice for the more than 20 years he has served.
"In particular, we would like to highlight his role as the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 472, the death penalty reform bill.
"Throughout the long and difficult debate on this contentious issue, John was constantly meeting with all concerned parties. They trusted him because of the fairness and confidentiality that he brought to the process, as well as his knowledge of the criminal justice system as a former Cook County public defender.
"In the highest tradition of legislative achievement, John brought everyone to the table and stuck with it until the job was done.
"Although there were many forces at work that culminated in the passage of this bill, Sen. Cullerton's role as the respected mediator made a critical difference. He was the driving force behind successful adoption of legislation that has received national acclaim."
The last name of North Riverside attorney David A. Skryd was misspelled in the official listing of candidates for ISBA Assembly on page 9 of the March issue of the ISBA Bar News.
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The name of the law firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist was misspelled in the Transition section on page 25 of the March issue.
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A sentence was inadvertently omitted from a letter by Wilmette attorney Charlotte Adelman that appeared on page 4 of the March issue. The full text follows:
Your February issue highlighting the Christian Legal Society quotes a Chicago attorney as saying, "The notion of lawyers is exclusively a Christian idea. The notion of a lawyer who will stand up and speak for the client has its origins in Christianity." The executive director of the society credits the Ten Commandments and the "biblical world" as "the basis for all law, such as marriage law and contract law."
Doesn't the Christian Legal Society know that God gave the Ten Commandments to the Jews long before Christianity? Don't the society