Three active ISBA members will receive Board of Governors Awards on Friday, June 27, during the 132nd Annual Meeting in St. Louis.

The board voted May 16, at the recommendation of the Committee on Scope and Correlation, to honor Alice Noble-Allgire of the Southern Illinois University School of Law, Westmont real estate attorney Joseph R. Fortunato Jr., and 4th Circuit Judge Ronald D. Spears of Taylorville.

Noble-Allgire was nominated by ISBA past president Irene F. Bahr as “a catalyst and leader in the diversity efforts” of the state bar association.

As past chair of the Committee on Minority and Women Participation, Noble-Allgire headed a diversity pipeline effort that resulted in formation of a task force to improve diversity in the legal community.

She chairs the Pipeline Subcommittee of the task force. “Her vision and gentle guidance were instrumental, and remain instrumental, to the power of this important initiative,” Bahr said.

Fortunato was nominated by ISBA Second Vice President John G. O’Brien for “numerous and ongoing contributions” to the bar association and profession in real estate law matters.

A past president of the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association, Fortunato was directly involved in management of its successful lawsuit against One World Title for unauthorized practice of law.

Also a past chair and associate newsletter editor of the ISBA Real Estate Law Section Council, he was liaison with the Illinois Association of Realtors and a member of the ISBA Assembly.

Judge Spears, a former member of the ISBA Board of Governors, was nominated by past president J. Timothy Eaton for serving with distinction as founding chair in 2001 of the Committee on Military Affairs.

A retired Illinois National Guard lieutenant colonel, Spears headed the initiative to provide legal assistance to members of the guard and reserve who were called to active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Under his leadership, ISBA recruited approximately 500 members to assist Illinois soldiers,” Eaton said. Spears also headed military law training for attorneys and supported formation of a Veterans Legal Support Center at The John Marshall Law School.

Maloney memorialized

The ISBA General Practice Section Tradition of Excellence Award henceforth will be known as the Matthew A. Maloney Tradition of Excellence Award in memory of the Princeton attorney who died in December.

The Board of Governors on May 16 adopted the recommendation from the Committee on Scope and Correlation to accept the wishes of the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Council.

The award will be presented posthumously during the ISBA Annual Meeting to Maloney, a past chair of the section council, former Assembly member and longtime Bureau County public defender.