Illinois Supreme Court Disbars 2, Suspends 5 in Latest Disciplinary Filing
The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on May 22, 2025. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
Disbarred
Wanemond Smith, Chicago
Mr. Smith, who was licensed in 2007, was disbarred on consent. While he was suspended from the practice of law following an earlier disciplinary case, he represented two clients in guardianship and dissolution matters, made false statements to three clients about his licensure status, failed to return a $2,500 unearned fee, and used another attorney’s signature block on a guardianship petition without authority.
Thomas Earl Hildebrand, Jr., Granite City
Mr. Hildebrand, who was licensed in 1976, was disbarred on consent. He made false statements to a client’s mother and to the judge presiding over his client’s criminal case concerning his knowledge of a scheduled sentencing hearing, resulting in the judge finding Mr. Hildebrand in contempt of court. He also failed to communicate with and diligently represent a client in a personal injury matter. He had been disciplined on two prior occasions for various misconduct.
Suspended
Richard Boling, Owensboro, KY
Mr. Boling was licensed in Illinois in 1994 and in Kentucky in 1995. In June 2023, the Supreme Court of Kentucky suspended him for five years. While he was the Commonwealth Attorney for Christian County, he wrote a letter to the Governor of Kentucky seeking a pardon for a convicted man in which he made false statements about the integrity of a judge and misleading statements about the crime at issue. He also successfully argued against a voluntary intoxication jury instruction in an arson case when he knew one of his witnesses believed the defendant to have been intoxicated on methamphetamine at the time of the crime. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended Mr. Boling for five years and until he is reinstated to the practice of law in Kentucky. The suspension is effective on June 12, 2025.
Michelle Gonzalez, Bolingbrook
Ms. Gonzalez, who was licensed to practice law in 2007, was suspended for four months and until she makes restitution of $15,750 to two clients. She incompetently represented those clients in criminal matters, and she charged them unreasonable fees. The suspension is effective on June 12, 2025.
Garrett Charles Kerr, Frankenmuth, MI
Mr. Kerr, who was licensed in 2009, was suspended for one year and until further order of the Court. He was hired by a Michigan law firm in 2020 with the condition that he seek admission to practice law in Michigan. Throughout 2020 and 2021, he made repeated false statements to his employer concerning the purported status of his admission application in Michigan, which he had not actually submitted. In addition, in 2020 and 2021, he falsely held himself out to at least three clients as being authorized to practice law in Michigan. A suspension until further order of the Court is an indefinite suspension which requires the suspended lawyer to petition for reinstatement after the fixed period of suspension ends. Reinstatement is not automatic and must be allowed by the Supreme Court of Illinois following a hearing before the ARDC Hearing Board.
Matthew Strong McLaughlin, Phoenix, AZ
Mr. McLaughlin was licensed in Illinois in 2003 and in Arizona in 1999. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Supreme Court of Arizona suspended him for six months and one day for settling three cases for his insurance company client without the company’s knowledge or consent, making misrepresentations to opposing counsel in the cases, not responding to certain filings by opposing counsel, and not responding to the Arizona State Bar’s requests for information. The Illinois Supreme Court imposed reciprocal discipline and suspended him for six months and until he is reinstated to the practice of law in Arizona. The suspension is effective on June 12, 2025.
Salena Rachelle Young, Springfield
Ms. Young, who was licensed in 2003, was suspended for two years. Between November 2021 and June 2023, when she was employed as an Assistant Illinois Attorney General, Ms. Young also worked as a part-time Sangamon Public Defender and operated a solo law practice while submitting time sheets to the Attorney General’s Office falsely stating that she worked full days as an Assistant Attorney General. After leaving the Attorney General’s Office, she worked as an attorney for the City of Springfield and forwarded confidential emails to her romantic partner. The suspension is effective on June 12, 2025.
Censured
Dale Robert Funk, St. Louis, MO
Mr. Funk was licensed in Illinois in 2013 and in Connecticut in 2014. In July 2024, Connecticut disciplinary authorities reprimanded him for failing to promptly pay a medical provider in a personal injury matter and making a misrepresentation to the provider in connection with the payment. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and censured Mr. Funk.
Jose Salvador Tellez, Laredo, TX
Mr. Tellez was licensed in Illinois in 1988 and in Texas in 1985. In June 2024, Texas disciplinary authorities publicly reprimanded him for misconduct in an immigration matter. He failed to promptly comply with his client’s requests for information about the matter, he did not properly safeguard his client’s funds, and he did not promptly respond to the grievance his client filed with Texas bar authorities. The Supreme Court of Illinois imposed reciprocal discipline and censured Mr. Tellez.