Chicago Area

George Tupper Swaim, 90, of Manteno, died peacefully at home, in the company of his loving wife, Alice, March 16, 2012. Cremation rites were accorded and memorial services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley, the YMCA, or to St. Mark United Methodist Church in Kankakee.

George was born Jan. 5, 1922, in Gibson City. He graduated from Kankakee High School in 1939 and continued his education at the University of Illinois, where he graduated first with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1943. That same year, he joined the U.S. Navy and attended the Columbia University’s Midshipmen’s School. Upon completion, he received the commission of ensign. He proudly served his country for three years, spending 18 months overseas and was involved in the securing of the Solomon Islands and two invasions of the Philippines. While in the Navy, he was commissioned to lieutenant commander. Upon graduation from the University of Illinois in 1950 with a Master of Arts degree, he attended Tulane University Law School, graduating in 1953 with a Juris Doctor degree. While at Tulane, he was elected student body president.

The Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI) will kick off a new term of office on Thursday, June 7, 2012, during its 98th Annual Installation Dinner at the Chicago Hilton Towers. The dinner serves as one of the largest annual celebrations within the Chicago legal community, with over 700 judges, attorneys, corporate supporters and prominent community leaders attending the event each year.

This year, the WBAI celebrates the installation of its incoming President, Karina Zabicki DeHayes, a partner in the Chicago law firm Tabet DiVito & Rothstein LLC. Incoming President Karina Zabicki DeHayes was named in the Law Bulletin’s “40 Under Forty”—Illinois Attorneys to Watch in 2008 and was named an Illinois “Rising Star” by her peers in SuperLawyers® magazine for three consecutive years beginning in 2009, a distinction reserved for the top 2.5 percent of Illinois lawyers who are under 40 or in practice for 10 years or less. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Bar Foundation. At the Dinner, incoming President Karina Zabicki DeHayes will detail the goals for her term and unveil her mission for the upcoming year, “Women and Men Partnering for Excellence.”

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis will receive the Northwest Suburban Bar Association’s 2012 Public Service Award at the association’s Judges’ Night April 26. Reservations are requested by April 19.

The event will be at Rosewood Banquets, 9421 W. Higgins Road, Rosemont. Cocktails (open bar) and hors d’oeuvres will be available beginning at 6 p.m., with dinner (with a choice of beef, chicken, salmon or a vegetarian entree) served at 7:30 p.m.

The association also will recognize the recipient of the 2012 Honorable Timothy C. Evans Scholarship.

Cost is $150 for members and $200 for non-members until April 19, after which the price increases to $165 and $215, respectively. Judges are guests of the NWSBA.

Justice Theis has served at every level of the Judiciary in the state of Illinois. She was appointed an associate judge in Cook County in 1983. She served there for five years, before being elected in 1988 to the Circuit Court, where she was assigned to the Criminal and Chancery divisions. She presided over hundreds of trials involving murder, robbery, sexual assault and other serious felonies, and also handled civil cases ranging from mortgage foreclosures, to class action cases and other multimillion-dollar lawsuits.

She served for 17 years on the Appellate Court, including several terms as presiding judge. When Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald retired from the Illinois Supreme Court in 2010, the Court appointed Justice Theis to serve the remainder of his term. In March 2012, she won the Democratic primary election for the seat and will run in the general election in November.

Frank M. Covey Jr. of Barrington Frank M. Covey Jr., 79, formerly of Mount Prospect, passed away peacefully Sunday, March 18, 2012. Frank was born Oct. 24, 1932, in Chicago.

He was a dedicated husband, loving father, accomplished lawyer and law professor. He was a person of the upmost moral character who in his career, with his family or in any aspect of his life placed everyone ahead of himself. He met the love of his life, Patricia, in high school during a debate. He represented Loyola Academy and she represented Aquinas High School. Thirteen years later they reunited through a random encounter at the famed Chicago restaurant, The Bergoff. After much trepidation, Patricia asked her twin sister to call Frank and pretend it was her. Frank called Pat back and asked her out. One year later they were engaged and then married at St. Phillip Neri on Chicago's south shore. Frank and Pat celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past October.

Professor Covey joined the School of Law faculty in 1988 as a visiting professor of law and retired in 2002. After graduating from law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable U.S. Schwartz of the Illinois Appellate Court, then spent one year as a teaching associate at Northwestern Law School. From 1960 to 1988, he was in practice in Chicago with McDermott, Will & Emery. He had chaired a number of committees and sections of the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.