Associations

With contentious statewide election campaigns having generated a potpourri of snide headlines and scurrilous commentary, ample fodder is ripe for Christmas Spirits tomfoolery.

The Chicago Bar Association's 83rd annual musical spoof is scheduled to run for five nights – Tuesday through Saturday, Dec. 5 to 9 – on the stage of DePaul University's cozy Merle Reskin Theatre on Balbo Drive.

The timely title is “King Tort and the Golden Age of Lawyers,” homage to the Pharoah Tutankhamun exhibit at the Field Museum, where the Chicago Bar Foundation held its 10th annual benefit Nov. 11.

Curtain time is 8 p.m. each night for the parody of peccadilloes by luminaries of the legal, political, sports and entertainment worlds during the past year. Optional pre-theater dinners are offered at 6 p.m. at the Chicago Hilton and Towers across the street.

Package prices are $130 for filet mignon and show, and $116 for chicken and show. Tickets for only the show are $60. Discounts are available for judges, government lawyers and members of the Young Lawyers Section.

The annual holiday party of the Advocates Society will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, at the Copernicus Center, Chicago.

Raylene DeWitte Grischow of Springfield, president of the Central Illinois Women's Bar Association, will speak at the annual meeting of the Central Illinois Paralegal Association on “Women in the Law: How Far We Have Come.”

The reception, dinner and installation of officers will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the Ozark House in Bloomington. For reservations, e-mail cipa@ciparalegal.org.

Incoming officers are President Crystal Thomas of State Farm, President-elect Gale L. Grant of Caterpillar, Vice President Kathleen Weir, Secretary Elizabeth Woodward, and Treasurer Jacalyn B. McKinnis.

A panel of judges will discuss mediation practice during a luncheon meeting of the Central Illinois Women's Bar Association on Thursday, Nov. 16, at Maldaner's Restaurant in Springfield. Call President Raylene Grischow at (217) 528-7375 for reservations.

Speaking on “Countdown to Mediation: New Rules in the 4th, 7th and 8th Circuits Effective Jan. 1 in Family Cases” are Judges Ronald Spears of Christian County, Steven Nardulli of Sangamon County and M. Carol Pope of Menard County.

The annual holiday dinner of the Champaign County Bar Association will take place Thursday, Dec. 14, at Champaign Country Club. Call President John Gadau at (217) 352-7676.

A bylaws amendment to add a new lawyer position on the board of the DuPage County Bar Association will be discussed during the holiday party from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at Arrowhead Country Club, Wheaton.

New unwrapped toys will be accepted for the Lawyers Lending a Hand toy drive. Call executive director Glenda Berg Sharp at (630) 653-779 for details and reservations.

The DuPage Association of Women Lawyers will hold a holiday party Monday, Dec. 4, at Sequel (formerly Bistro Banlieue) in the Yorktown Mall, Lombard. Call President Maria Tolva Mack at (630) 759-2559.

The East Central Illinois Women Attorneys Association will meet for luncheon and program Tuesday, Nov. 21, at Biaggi's Ristorante, Champaign.

Cook County Associate Judge Jesse G. Reyes, president of the Illinois Judges Association, has partnered with the Chicago Bar Association for a free breakfast forum, “The 8 O'Clock Call,” at 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at the CBA. Panelists are Judges Sharon Coleman, Ronald Davis and Diane Larson.

Cook County Judge Marjorie C. Laws was installed Sept. 26, as chair of the Illinois Judicial Council. She succeeds Judge Sybil C. Thomas. Other officers are Judges P. Scott Neville Jr., chair-elect; David B. Atkins, secretary; Casandra Lewis, assistant secretary, and Thomas R. Sumner, treasurer.

Chicago attorney Carlina Tapia-Ruano of Tapia-Ruano & Gunn is president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Immigration Lawyers Association. Call her at (312) 267-4987 for information.

The Nov. 16 dinner meeting of the Justinian Society has been cancelled. Past presidents and 25-year members will be honored at a future meeting.

The Kane County Bar Association's annual holiday party and toy drive is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, at The Herrington in Geneva. Call (630) 762-1915.

Members of the Peoria County Bar Association will perform skits during the holiday dinner party Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Hotel Pere Marquette. Call (309) 674-6049.

The annual dinner meeting of the Sangamon County Bar Association will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield. Call Shirley Vinson at (217) 753-6365.

Highlights include a Gridiron show, inauguration of officers and presentation of the Harlington Wood Jr. Professionaliam Award to retired judge Simon L. Friedman.

The South Suburban Bar Association will install officers during its annual holiday dinner dance on Thursday, Dec. 14, at Idlewild Country Club in Flossmoor.

Associate Judge James K. Borbely of the 5th Circuit will speak to the Vermilion County Bar Association during a luncheon meeting Tuesday, Nov. 28, at Old National Bank in Danville. Call President Jeff Clapper at (217) 446-1650.

“What Lawyers Need to Know About the IRS so They Don't Get into Trouble” is the topic of a program during a meeting of the West Suburban Bar Association at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 20, at Molly Malone's in Forest Park.

The speaker is Chicago attorney William F. Marutzky, a member of the ISBA Federal Taxation Section Council. Call Wendy, the new executive director, at (708) 366-1122 for reservations.

The WSBA holiday party is scheduled at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, at Caffe DeLuca in Forest Park.

The Will County Bar Association has selected Barolo's Restaurant in Joliet as the site of its holiday party on Thursday, Dec. 7. Call (815) 726-0383.