community service and continuing legal education that enhance the image of the practicing bar.
The letter of nomination must be accompanied by a complete resume of the candidate that includes the nature of practice, bar association memberships, courts in which he or she is admitted.
A photograph should be included, along with accounts of the contributions the candidate has made to the community and the general practice of law, and a statement of the reasons he or she should receive the award.
If you're looking for the headquarters of the Lawyers' Assistance Program at 20 S. Clark St., Chicago, you are in the right building but perhaps not the right floor.
The LAP offices relocated on Dec. 28 from suite 910, adjacent to the ISBA Chicago Regional Office in the south bank of elevators, to suite 1820 in the north bank of elevators.
The telephone number to reach executive director Janet Piper Voss remains the same: (312) 726-6607. The Web site is www.IllinoisLAP.org.
The downstate office at 200 W. Third St., Alton, headed by associate director Joseph Bartylak, may be contacted at (618) 462-4397.
The telephone hotline for immediate assistance with alcohol and drug dependency and mental health problems is (800) LAP-1233.
By Edward R. Burr
The article by ISBA President Ole Bly Pace III, "Retentions, partisan election results reveal flawed process," (ISBA Bar News, December 2004, page 4) decries both the methods of selection and retention of Illinois judges.
This is not a new observation. Similar observations customarily follow every judicial election and judicial retention election.
Furthermore, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, other professional associations as well as the print media have long ago concluded that the election of our state court judges and the present method of retention elections are purposefully designed to overly politicize these processes.
And it surely must be obvious that despite efforts to evaluate judicial candidates, we have woefully failed to educate the public adequately as to what qualities are needed for our judicial officials and how the candidates are or are not likely to possess those requirements.
The inadequacy of the present process is then further exacerbated by a public that is intent on electing people to judicial office for the wrong reasons. While it is unquestionably necessary and desirable to have an inclusive judiciary, gender, nationality, race or religion have become controlling considerations among the voters.
The ISBA and CBA have not merely voiced criticism. Each has adopted suggestions to alter the current processes and to replace them with a method of merit selection of judges. To do so, however, requires that the Judicial Article (Article VI) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 be amended.
Article XIV of the Constitution of the State of Illinois, also mandates that the process to amend any of its provisions, other than for structural and procedural subjects pertaining to amendments of the Legislative Article, may be initiated only in the General Assembly.
Political leaders have, and will continue to have keen desires to determine who shall be (and who shall not be) a judge in this state. Since members of the legislature are themselves elected by the political process, there is virtually no likelihood that they will abandon the present elective method of "selecting" our state's judges.
There is, of course, a way in which the required legislative initiative to amend the constitution may possibly be circumvented.
The 1970 state constitution requires that the question of whether to call a Constitutional Convention must be voted upon by the electorate every 20 years. In 2010 the people will once again be given the opportunity to decide whether or not to call for a Constitutional Convention.
We are reminded that in 1990 the voters overwhelmingly rejected the holding of another Constitutional Convention. The probabilities are that the same result will ensue. Should the voters in 2010 determine to call for the convention, however, that would not guarantee that the Judicial Article would then be amended to provide for merit selection of judges.
The political leadership of both parties would no doubt make a concerted effort to control who will be the delegates to the convention. That means, of course, political control of how the delegates would vote on any attempt to amend the Judicial Article.
By now it should be obvious that if bar associations, other institutions and organizations and the public are truly intent on bringing about such a needed change, they must confront the reality that careful planning, coupled with a vigorous (and very expensive) long-term campaign, must be undertaken to educate and influence the voters to induce their representatives in the legislative branch to allow the public to vote on a constitutional amendment of the Judicial Article.
Keep in mind that there are only two primary rules of politics. The first rule of politics is to get elected. The second rule is to get re-elected. And so, the public must first be convinced that merit selection is in their collective best interests.
Thereafter, the public must be informed and persuaded to put pressure upon their legislative representatives to vote to put on the ballot a proposed amendment to the Judicial Article. The voters must be informed as to which of their state senators and representatives or legislative candidates are with them on the issue and which are not.
The goal can hope to be achieved only if the organized bar, its leaders and other similarly inclined influential individuals and groups are prepared to make the decision to do something other than merely continuing to report, as happens following each judicial election and retention election, that the present system is flawed. We already know that.
Will we ever be willing to put our money, time and efforts where our mouths have been for so very long? Are we ever going to mount a serious campaign to bring about that goal?
* * *
Edward Burr, a Cook County Circuit Court judge, is assigned to the Law Division. He has been a member of the judiciary for more than 20 years.
ISBA to oppose class action rule proposal at hearing
By Stephen Anderson
The ISBA Assembly on Dec. 11 took a position against a business-sponsored proposal to create a new Illinois Supreme Court Rule 225 that would regulate the certification and conduct of class actions.
Proposal 03-06 will be discussed during a Supreme Court Rules Committee hearing at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 24, in the Michael A. Bilandic Building at 160 N. LaSalle, Chicago.
Entities that petitioned the court to adopt the rule include the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Business Roundtable, Illinois Manufacturers Association, Illinois Civil Justice League and several corporations.
The ISBA Board of Governors had voted unanimously on Nov. 12, with one abstention, to oppose Rule 225. The ISBA Committee on Supreme Court Rules advised the board that the business community proposal consists of four significant requirements:
* Prior to certifying a class, the trial court must find that the moving party has met conditions of 725 ILCS 5/2-801(4) and must determine that proceeding as a class "is superior to other available methods for fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy."
* The trial court must memorialize its order allowing or denying class certification, and the order must "specify the evidence, or lack of evidence, on which the court bases its decision regarding each factor."
* The trial court must decide any pending motions to dismiss, or any judgment on the pleadings prior to certifying the class, unless all parties agree otherwise.
* Discovery on the merits of the claims or defenses must be stayed until the court has decided whether to certify the class, except as required by Rule 191(b), When Material Facts Are Not Obtainable by Affidavit, of the interest of justice.
The ISBA committee expressed concerns that the superiority clause would not resolve a perceived harm, would not provide guidance to the trial court, and would not stem improper filings of class actions.
Noting that 40 states and federal courts have rules that contain superiority requirements, however, the committee voted to support creation of Rule 225 as a means of addressing negative perceptions of Illinois courts as "hellholes" of class actions.
James F. McCluskey advised the Board of Governors that the Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council opposes Rule 225 because the limit on discovery is an unfair advantage that "tilts the playing field in favor of the defendant."
The Tort Law Section Council previously expressed opposition to Rule 225, which it believes would exceed the parameters of preferred Federal Rule 23 procedures for class action case management.
ISBA recommendations spur other proposals
The Supreme Court Rules Committee on Jan. 24 also will review several proposals that are derivatives of recommendations made by participants in the 2002 ISBA Future of the Courts Conference. They are:
Proposal 04-02 - Creates new Rule 274 on Multiple Final Orders and Post-Judgment Motions (amending portions of Rules 303 and 304) to clarify the status of successive final judgments and related post-judgment motions, and tolling of appeal time.
Proposal 04-03 - Amends Rules 315 and 368 to provide for en banc rehearings by the Appellate Court, including Rule 23 orders.
Proposal 04-04 - Amends Rule 329 to require a circuit clerk to prepare a bound and certified supplemental record for filing in the Appellate Court upon order issued pursuant to motion.
Proposal 04-05 - Amends Rule 361 on Motions in Reviewing Court to add sections on emergency motions and bail motions, and on dispositive motions.
Proposal 04-06 - Amends Rule 367(e) to limit petitions for rehearing after the Appellate Court has acted upon, rather than granted, a petition and entered judgment.
Proposal 04-13 - Amends Rule 367(d) on rehearings in the reviewing courts.
Proposal 04-14 - Amends Rule 317 to allow appeals from the Appellate Court to the Supreme Court as a matter of right when a federal or state statute has been held invalid.
The court committee also will hear testimony on: Proposal 04-08 - Amends Rule 281, Definition of Small Claims, and Proposal 04-12 - Amends Rule 90, Conduct of the Hearings, to add new paragraph (h).
Texts of all proposals that are scheduled for hearing on Jan. 24 are posted on the court Web site, www.state.il.us/court, under Supreme Court of Illinois, Supreme Court Committees/Commissions, at Public Hearings.
Printed copies may be obtained by calling Michelle Cunico at (312) 793-7275 or sending a request by facsimile to her at (312) 793-0775.
Thomas C. Cox, assistant director of default prevention outreach for the Program Services Division of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, is guest speaker for a brown-bag luncheon program Thursday, Jan. 20, at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Cox will discuss law student debt management issues and try to alleviate confusion caused by mailings that offer to consolidate school loans. He will explain the process and discuss strategies to considered before making decisions on refinancing.
The free program is sponsored by the ISBA Young Lawyers Division, the Law Student Division, and the Committee on Bar Services and Activities.Space is limited. For registration availability, contact Phyllis Lester at (312) 726-8775 or plester@isba.org. Box lunches may be ordered in advance for $10 each. Complimentary coffee and soft drinks will be provided.
Future meetings of the ISBA Board of Governors will take place at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 28, at the Westin River North Hotel, Chicago; Friday, April 8, at The Herrington Inn, Geneva, and Friday, May 13, at the Renaissance Hotel, Springfield.
The 2005 ISBA Annual Meeting will be conducted Thursday through Saturday, June 16 to 18, at The Abbey on Lake Geneva, where Robert K. Downs of Chicago will succeed Ole Bly Pace III of Sterling as president.
Commission chair to speak at worker's comp program
"Hot Topics in Workers' Compensation," an ISBA Law Ed Series seminar, will be presented Friday, Feb. 11, at the UBS Tower Conference Center, Chicago, and Monday, Feb. 21, at the Holiday Inn, Collinsville.
Michelle D. Porro, chair of the ISBA Workers' Compensation Law Section Council, is program coordinator. Also an ISBA Assembly member, she is a partner in Presbrey & Associates, Aurora.
Porro will be moderator for the Chicago program, and section council vice chair John B. Adams of Roddy, Leahy, Guill & Zima, Chicago, for the Collinsville program. The schedule follows.
9 a.m. - Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission Update, with commission chair Dennis R. Ruth of Chicago.
9:15 a.m. - Check List, tips for everything from filing an application for adjustment of claim through trying a case before the commission. The speaker is section newsletter co-editor Cameron Blake Clark of Arnold G. Rubin Ltd., Chicago.
9:45 a.m. - Independent Medical Examination, perspectives from petitioner and respondent attorneys on preparing clients for examinations, the value of examinations, whether petitioners should use them, and strategies for getting opinions from treating physicians.
Chicago speakers are section council member Markham M. Jeep of Waukegan and newsletter co-editor Carol A. Cesaretti of Power & Cronin, Oak Brook. Collinsville speakers are section council member Robert C. Nelson of Nelson & Nelson, Belleville, and vice chair John Adams.
10:40 a.m. - Appeals, check lists and tips for each level of review from the Workers' Compensation Commission to the Illinois Supreme Court, with section council member Kenneth M. Werts of Craig & Craig, Mt. Vernon.
11 a.m. - Appellate Justice's Perspective: What Are They Looking for in Oral Arguments, and What You Should Avoid. The speakers are 3rd District Justice William E. Holdridge of Peoria, a section council member (in Chicago), and retired 5th District justice Philip J. Rarick of Troy (in Collinsville).
11:20 a.m. - Evidence: How to Get Crucial Evidence into the Record. Speakers are section council members David M. Barish of Katz, Friedman, Eagle, Eisenstein & Johnson, Chicago (in Chicago), and William R. Gallagher of Wagenfield Levine, St. Louis (in Collinsville.
11:50 a.m. - Luncheon period.
12:50 p.m. - What Are Those Orthopedic Tests in Layman's Terms? What Is the Significance of those Medical Findings? Independent Medical Examinations from the Physician's Perspective. Speakers are Dr. Mark A. Lorenz and Dr. Michael R. Zindrick of Hinsdale Orthopedic Associates.
1:35 p.m. - 8(d)1off-lot: Is Your Client Permanently and Totally Disabled? Speakers are section council secretary Deborah A. Benzing of Gabric, Millon & Ory, Wheaton (in Chicago), and council member Lance R. Mallon of Wood River (in Collinsville).
2:05 p.m. - SS Set Aside: How to Set up the Trust and Get It Approved by CMS. Speakers are section council member Alan R. Boudreau of Boudreau & Beal, Chicago (in Chicago), and Bradford J. Peterson of Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, Urbana (in Collinsville).
2:30 p.m. - Case Law Update, with section council member David B. Menchetti of Cullen, Haskins, Nicholson & Menchetti, Chicago.
Agency officials talk shop
Seven officials of federal, state and local labor and employment law agency offices in Chicago will outline procedural issues during a "Meet the Agencies" program from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Program coordinator and moderator is Alan M. Kaplan of Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Schaumburg, a member of the ISBA Labor and