Chicago Area

Kubasiak, Fylstra, Thorpe & Rotunno, P.C., a full-service and independent Chicago-based law firm, will commemorate its 20th anniversary on March 16.

“This important milestone is a reflection of the tireless work of KFTR’s dedicated team of attorneys and staff, as well as a validation of the strong client partnerships we’ve forged over two decades,” said Gerald E. Kubasiak, KFTR director/shareholder. “We look forward to building on this tremendous accomplishment in the future.”

Since 1993, KFTR has offered complex litigation services and sophisticated transactional representation, turning problems into solutions. With extensive resources to address virtually any type of business or liability matter, the firm is able to integrate its legal team’s skills, knowledge and experience to achieve creative solutions with superior results.

KFTR’s experienced attorneys have earned a reputation for representing client interests ethically and economically. To accomplish this, KFTR maintains close working relationships with its clients and pairs the firm’s areas of experience with client needs.

Founding members Gerald E. Kubasiak and Raymond A. Fylstra, both director/shareholders, remain an active part of the firm’s leadership. Steven J. Rotunno, who joined the firm soon after it started, also is a KFTR director/shareholder. The firm, which started with seven lawyers two decades ago, now includes 16 lawyers.

Several members of the Illinois State Bar Association and students from The John Marshall Law School donned stovepipe hats and marched in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade along Columbus Drive near downtown Chicago on March 16. The group marched alongside the ISBA's mobile billboard, which features a photo of Lincoln the lawyer with a message that reads: “Illinois has a history of some pretty good lawyers. We’re out to keep it that way.”

Califf & Harper, P.C. is pleased to welcome Brian R. Tunis to the firm as a new associate attorney. Mr. Tunis focused his undergraduate studies in Finance at the University of Iowa graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2009. While attending law school at the University of Iowa College of Law from 2009 to 2012, Mr. Tunis was a member of the Iowa Law Review. 

Mr. Tunis was also heavily involved with the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program which provides free income tax assistance for lower-income taxpayers.  Graduating with distinction in 2012, Mr. Tunis passed the Illinois Bar in November 2012.

Califf & Harper, P.C. has offices in Moline and Naperville.

Roger Reno, 88, of Rockford, a local attorney and former chairman of AMCORE financial died on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, in his home with his family by his side.

Born May 16, 1924, in Rockford; the son of Guy B. and Hazel (Kinnear) Reno, longtime Rockford residents. His father practiced law for 55 years and in 1923 founded the firm now known as Reno & Zahm.

Roger attended Rockford schools, Garrison, Roosevelt, and West, which are all now closed. Roger stated that he'd seen many changes in his lifetime, and "I've been against every one of them." This decision did not include his marriage on May 17, 1952, to Janice Marie Odelius, nor the birth of their children, Susan, Sheri (David) Rudolph, and Michael.

Following his graduation from West High, he started college at Carleton College (Minn.) where he spent one term, and then in January 1943, volunteered in the Air Force, being discharged as a First Lieutenant in March 1946, in order to re-enter Carelton where he graduated in 1947. During his service he spent one year at Kenyon College (Ohio) as a cadet in the meteorology program, and when that was dismantled, was assigned to the electrical communications school at Yale University (Conn.) There he received his commission and was assigned to engage in installation of instrument landing equipment.