U.S. president to be honorary ISBA member

Chicago attorney Barack H. Obama, who will be inaugurated Jan. 20 as president of the United States, has been made an honorary member of the Illinois State Bar Association.

The ISBA Assembly on Dec. 13 adopted the following resolution to commemorate the historic inauguration.

WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln, an Illinois attorney, took office as the 16th President of the United States of America on March 4, 1861; and

WHEREAS, 148 years later, another Illinois attorney, Barack Obama, will be inaugurated as the 44th U.S. President on January 20, 2009; and

WHEREAS, the new president will take up residence in the historic White House with another Illinois attorney, his wife Michelle Robinson Obama; and

WHEREAS, the Illinois State Bar Association points with pride to Barack Obama as an exemplar of Abraham Lincoln’s image as a competent lawyer, a dedicated leader and a devoted advocate of the rights of all citizens; and

WHEREAS, there is no greater responsibility than securing the lives, liberties and pursuits of happiness of this nation’s three hundred million people of diverse heritage; and

WHEREAS, there can be no greater challenge than that of representing this nation internationally as leader of the free world;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Illinois State Bar Association expresses its admiration to Barack Obama for his past accomplishments and high expectations as he undertakes the daunting tasks that lie ahead; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Illinois State Bar Association extends its best wishes to the Obama family as it embarks on its history-making trek to the White House.