River District Board and is a member of the Winnebago County Crime and Public Safety Commission.
A 1995 cum laude graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law who practiced briefly with Quinlan & Crisham in Chicago, Morrissey moved back to Rockford in 1997 to join the personal injury practice of his father, Joseph A. Morrissey.
Last year, the mayor-to-be won a judgment of $2.4 million for the plaintiff in a lawsuit involving a stove that was installed defectively in a low-income Rockford housing project. The plight of public housing in the city helped Morrissey decide to run for mayor in April.
Other municipal results
Retiring ISBA Assembly member Mark W. Damisch lost his bid for re-election in April as president of the Village of Northbrook. He'll be able to devote more time to concert piano performances, such as his tour in China and Japan from July 16 to Aug. 5.
Mark also is a law partner in Damisch & Damisch with his father, John W. Damisch, in Chicago. Both served on the Assembly until their terms expired in June.
ISBA Assembly member Russell W. Hartigan, a former member of the Board of Governors, was elected a trustee of Lyons Township. He also serves in the Civil Practice and Procedure Section Council and the Illinois Bar Foundation board.
Terence M. Madsen, a member of the Agricultural Law and Child Law Section Councils, was elected a commissioner of the City of Princeton.
Timothy E. Moran, a member of the State and Local Taxation Section Council and the Task Force on Unauthorized Practice of Law, was elected to the board of Geneva School District 304.
Jay D. Reece, past chair of the Committee on Law-Related Education for the Public, was elected to the school board in Bloomington.
Terra C. Howard of Glen Ellyn was elected to the District 41 elementary school board. She serves on the Child Law Section Council and the Committee on Judicial Evaluation Outside Cook County.
Donald M. Craven of Springfield was elected to the Curran Gardner Township Water District board. He is a member of the Committee on Legislation, the Federal Civil Practice Section Council and the Task Force on Unauthorized Practice of Law.
Alfred A. Spitzzeri of Wheaton, a former member of the ISBA Assembly and past president of the Justinian Society of DuPage County, was elected a Naperville Township trustee.
Three Chicago attorneys were installed June 7 as directors of the 125-year-old Union League Club of Chicago, and two others are continuing their terms as board members.
Newly elected are James S. Barber, head of the Employment Practice Group at Clausen Miller; Brenda A. Russell, director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security, and William S. Wigoda of Jakubs, Kritzmire & Wigoda.
They join James J. Gatziolis of Quarles & Brady and Guy N. Maras of Hennessy & Roach, who already serve on the ULCC board.
Leaving the board are retiring president David L. Hanson of Gardner, Carton & Douglas, and retiring secretary William J. Nissen of Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood.
Bukata, Bertschy, Nijman earn Trust Fund accolades
Marta C. Bukata, deputy director of the Chicago Legal Clinic, has received the Lawyers Trust Fund's highest honor, the Esther R. Rothstein Award, for exemplary service and dedication to the cause of equal access to justice.
The award was presented by LTF President M. Ann Hatch of Belleville during the annual reception June 3 at the Chicago Bar Association.
The Rothstein Award was an extra reason for Bukata and Edward I. Grossman, executive director of the clinic, to celebrate. Their 2006 grant of $154,000 was among those announced during the event.
Bukata, a former English teacher from Argentina, joined the Chicago Legal Clinic, a storefront office on the city's Southeast Side, in 1986 to manage its domestic violence program.
She was named deputy director in 1989 and has been instrumental in guiding its growth to four offices, 15 lawyers and more than 200 volunteers who serve about 8,000 clients each year.
"Marta has worked tirelessly to protect the victims of domestic violence and for the best interests of children ensnared in bitter custody battles," Hatch said.
"Her unique mixture of warmth and toughness makes her an ideal advocate for vulnerable people who desperately need both a legal advocate and someone who can help them find the courage to face the next day."
Hatch also presented exemplary leadership awards to ISBA past president Timothy L. Bertschy and CBA past president Jennifer T. Nijman, co-chairs of the Illinois Legal Needs Study steering committee.
A partner in the Peoria firm of Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, Bertschy is president of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation and a member of the American Bar Association Board of Governors.
He was the founding chair of the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice and served as president of the Lawyers' Assistance Program during its transition from voluntary funding to stable support through an annual fee from each registered attorney.
Nijman, a partner in Winston & Strawn, Chicago, is the incoming chair of the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice. She is president of the Center for Conflict Resolution and a past board member of the Public Interest Law Initiative.
"Money, ideas, programs and projects are the building blocks of the legal aid system," Hatch said at the award presentation.
"But it is the talent and dedication of extraordinary individuals that allow our legal aid system to do so much more than anyone would have a right to ask of expect."
Geo-Karis tells WWII experience at art museum
State Sen. Adeline Jay Geo-Karis of Zion will give a lecture at The Art Institute of Chicago at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 19, based on her experiences in the Navy during World War II.
Her remarks, titled "Serving my Country: A Veteran's Recollections of World War II," are scheduled during the Art Institute's ongoing Tuesday series on "1945: Creativity and Crisis, Chicago Architecture and Design of the World War II Era."
Born in Greece, Sen. Geo-Karis enlisted as an apprentice seaman in the Naval Reserves in 1942, at the age of 24, after graduating from the DePaul University College of Law.
The Navy sent her to officer school for training as a legal specialist, and she became a lieutenant commander while on a four-year tour of duty at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Lake County.
After the war, Geo-Karis opened a law office in Zion. Her six-decade practice has included service as an assistant attorney general, as a justice of the peace and as mayor of the city for four years.
She was elected to the Illinois House in 1972 and to the Senate in 1978. She is co-chair of the Executive Appointments Committee and a member of the Financial Institutions Committee.
Presidential travel planners get best bang for U.S. bucks
By Bob Downs, ISBA president
Planning a trip to Italy is not all that difficult with one exception: Sicily! Not impossible, but dealing with the wonderful Sicilians does have an element of challenge.
My presidential trip to Italy from Chicago takes place Monday, Nov. 14 through 25. Estimated cost is very reasonable, considering the dollar vs. Euro these days. It's $2,364 per person, based on double occupancy with airfare included.
This somewhat off-season venture means fewer crowds and generally moderate weather. All in all, a perfect time of the year.
Trip planning (as with South America next spring) is with a new and, from what we can see, excellent travel planning agency: Collette Vacations out of Rhode Island. They have arranged ISBA-dedicated trips with certain customization requested by Barb and me.
No pass-the-hat tipping, free water, etc. For instance, Barb and I will lead an evening walk in Rome, which is the best way to capture the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, and end at the Plaza Navonne. Our leisurely stroll will end with dinner at any number of wonderful spots in and around the plaza.
Then it is on to the Amalfi Coast (a first for the ISBA) for a few days, and Sicily is another first. Having reconnoitered for all of you (tough job, but someone's got to do it) on our dime, we will take in the essential highlights of Sicily in a sufficiently leisurely manner to truly enjoy this wonderful and historical island.
Buenos Aires (again checked out by Barb and me last March) is an over-the-top experience. Set aside the fact that the dollar buys three times as much as here, Buenos Aires is truly worthy of comparison to Paris in the 1930s.
The trip begins at Santiago, Chile, the gateway to Northern Patagonia, where we will get in a day of sightseeing, and then on down to Bariloche, Argentina, which is something of an Alpine setting.
We will travel across the lakes district on our way to Buenos Aires for approximately five days with many opportunities to explore on your own.
Yes, there will be a Tango Night and an Estancia experience and, if at all possible, a futbal game (I can't even begin to describe the incredible noise and excitement of soccer in South America).
As in Paris, getting around Buenos Aires is easy, so you will have a chance to experience all the wonderful parks, museums, the Recoleta stalls and San Telmo antiques. The next stop is Iguassu Falls, as spectacular as any in the world (see the movie, "The Mission").
We are confident that Collette Vacations will go out of its way to become one of those who partner with the ISBA for future package trips. Buenos Aires will be in March 2006, which in reversed seasons is late summer. Exact dates and cost will be known in a short time.
We hope you will join us! Call Collette's special accounts desk at (888) 324-0169 for details of both the Italy-Sicily and South America trips.
Foundation grant supports help for disabled, elderly
The Illinois Bar Foundation has provided a grant of $3,000 to help the Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL) update its six-year-old Elder and Disability Database.
CDEL developed the case management database in 1999 to process applicants, to refer cases to attorneys, and to track the status of cases. The technology could no longer support the continuing growth of the organization.
"As the demand for pro bono legal services increases, it is imperative to have efficient systems in place to respond to the needs of our clients, staff and 1,100 volunteer attorneys," said CDEL executive director Jann Dragovich-Stulberg.
The organization's mission is protecting and advancing the legal rights of low-income senior citizens of ages 60 and older and individuals of all ages with disabilities.
CDEL utilizes a well-designed and efficient pro bono infrastructure that supports the skills of attorneys who offer equal standing in the legal system to more than 3,500 of these clients annually.
The center serves people of every race, ethnicity and gender. Among its staff members and volunteers are individuals who can communicate in most of the world's languages, as well as sign language.
Volunteer attorneys are offered training sessions, practice materials, administrative support, malpractice coverage, properly screened cases and follow-up. A mentoring program allows younger volunteers to be educated and inspired by seasoned attorneys.
CDEL provides guidance to new recruits from its senior counsel of pro bono affairs, Ronald Miller of Miller, Shakman & Hamilton, a Laureate of the ISBA Academy of Illinois Lawyers. Call the executive director at (312) 908-6087 for details.
The Bar Foundation has awarded grants to CDEL totaling $66,000 since its founding in 1984. The center also receives annual grants of $68,000 from the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois.
CDEL benefit puts focus on unique bridge houses
The 21st annual benefit of the Center for Disability and Elder Law promises to be a unique event for participants, a tribute to Chicago's historic waterways, and a precursor to the American Bar Association annual meeting.
Titled "Bridging Communities," the CDEL benefit on Wednesday, Aug. 3, will focus on the city's bridge houses, many of which will become intimate cafes for participating sponsors to entertain guests at individual receptions.
A riverside dinner at the Sheraton Hotel will follow, and the evening will continue with a sunset architectural boat cruise and entertainment by the Chicago Bar Association Scales of Justice band. It will end with a fireworks spectacular.
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is honorary chair. Proceeds will help fund CDEL's commitment to pro bono legal services for the city's vulnerable elderly and disabled citizens.
Among the levels of support is Tower Power, a $25,000 contribution that includes a key to a bridge house for a gourmet cocktail hour for six, an individual banner, a private bridge-raising, a custom piece of bridge art by a Gallery 37 artist, and 10 tickets for the dinner and cruise.
Other levels with lesser features are Bridge the Gap ($15,000), River's Edge ($10,000), and Skyline ($5,000). Individual tickets may be purchased for $200 each.
For complete information about benefit sponsorships and reservations, call CDEL executive director Jann Dragovich-Stulberg at (312) 908-6087.
Judicature panels slated Aug. 5-6
Chicago attorney Robert P. Cummins and Illinois Appellate Justice Warren D. Wolfson will participate in panel discussions during the annual meeting of the American Judicature Society next month in Chicago.
With a "Focus on Judicial Ethics," the AJS will conduct programs on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 5-6, at Le Meridien Hotel, 521 N. Rush St.
From 1:30 to 4 p.m. Friday, Cummins will be a panelist for the discussion, "Evaluating the Model Code of Judicial Conduct." He is AJS advisor to the American Bar Association Joint Commission to Evaluate the Model Code.
The panel will discuss crucial issues in the revision process, and the substantive positions and role of the AJS. Among provisions to be considered are the appearance of impropriety standards and charitable fund raising.
From 9 a.m. to 12 noon Saturday, Justice Wolfson will speak during the presentation, "The Harder They Fall: A Hand Up for Impaired Judges." He is president of the Lawyers' Assistance Program.
Panelists will review programs that are available to jurists who suffer from alcoholism, gambling addiction, depression, declining mental acuity and other impairments. They will discuss helping an afflicted judge while maintaining public confidence in the judiciary.
During the AJS luncheon on Friday, the Center on Wrongful Convictions at the Northwestern University School of Law will receive the Herbert Harley Award.
To obtain more information or to register for the AJS annual meeting, contact Beth Tigges at (515) 271-2283 or btigges@ajs.org. Online registration is available at www.ajs.org.
Supreme Court admits leaders of Illinois bar
Fifty ISBA members were admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court on June 6 during a ceremony at the court building in Washington, D.C.
The state bar delegation included John G. O'Brien, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors, and seven members of the Assembly: Katherine A. Amari, Deborah A. Benzing, Sandra M. Blake, Anita M. DeCarlo, Felicia M. DiGiovanni, Melanie S. Frazek and Gregg A. Garafalo.