Chicago Area

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced tthat Kathryn D. Karayannis has been appointed to the office of associate judge in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit.

Ms. Karayannis received her undergraduate degree in 1982 from the Valparaiso University, and her Juris Doctor in 1988 from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Ms. Karayannis is currently affiliated with the Kane County State's Attorney's Office in St. Charles.

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Diann K. Marsalek as a Circuit Judge of Cook County, at Large. This vacancy was created by the retirement of the Honorable Margaret O'Mara Frossard.

This appointment is effective on Oct. 3, 2011, and terminates on Dec. 3, 2012.

Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG), the premier lawyer service company in the U.S., announced that Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Augie Butera, was recently installed as president of the Illinois Land Title Association (ILTA).  Also, ATG’s Arden Miner, senior manager – underwriting and escrow, was elected to ILTA’s board of directors for a three-year term.  
 
Both Butera and Miner were officially installed at a formal ceremony recently during ILTA’s 2011 annual convention in Springfield at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel.
 
As a SVP and general counsel for ATG, Butera manages ATG’s legal and escrow departments, and handles title insurance claims and litigation.  He is also president of ATG subsidiary, The Judicial Sales Corporation.
 
Butera has served on ATG legal staff since 1986.  He has considerable background in title searching and closing problems.  Prior to joining ATG, Butera worked eight years for the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.  He earned his Bachelor’s of Science and law degrees from Chicago’s DePaul University in 1982 and 1985, respectively.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced Thursday the appointment of Cynthia Y. Cobbs to a judicial vacancy in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Ms. Cobbs resigned her position as Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts to accept the judicial appointment. She was the first woman and the first African American to serve as Administrative Director and her tenure as Director is the second longest since the position was established in 1960.

Ms. Cobbs was  named to the Cook County vacancy, at large, created by the retirement earlier this year of Henry R. Simmons. Jr. The appointment is effective Friday, September 23 and terminates December 3, 2012.

Ms. Cobbs was named Director March 1, 2002 and has served under five Chief Justices. Her steady and loyal stewardship has helped guide the Supreme Court and the judicial branch through severe economic times, tight budgets and a technological revolution.

"She has served loyally and with dedication during rough economic times," said Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride. "The Court appreciates and values her long years of service and the numerous  innovations she has helped guide."