People

Larry Mills, 58, of Danville, passed away on July 5, 2013, in Urbana.

He was born on Jan. 17, 1955, in Elgin, the son of Robert C. and Betty (Sholes) Mills.

Surviving him are his father, Robert; brother, Steve Mills of Lombard; sister, Cathy Yant of Westmont; nieces, Samantha Piper of Aurora and Jamie (Scott) Burpo of Tennessee; nephews, Levi (Kirsten) Yant of Boston, Mass., Jim (Kim) Mills of Tennessee and Jason (Natalie) Mills of Tennessee; special friends, Jan Keeler, Sue Woods, Lynda Morgan and Frank Young, all from Danville; and several great-nieces and nephews.

Larry was preceded in death by his mother; and first wife, Ann Mills.

Larry loved books and was a member of two book clubs. He had a passion for movies and the theater, traveling yearly to Stratford, Ontario, for a Shakespeare festival. He loved to cook, very much enjoyed long leisurely meals with friends and to share a glass of wine with good friends. He will be missed by all of them.

Larry enjoyed a long legal career, both as a prosecuting attorney in the Vermilion County State’s Attorney’s Office and more recently opening his own private law practice. Larry was jokingly known as a “walking law encyclopedia” and was always happy to answer questions from both prosecutors and defense attorneys. Larry was a member of the David Palmer Civic Center Board and was currently serving on the Vermilion County Board.

Memorials can be made in Larry’s name to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or the charity of the donor’s choice.

Hubert E. Hermanek Sr., 84, a longtime resident of Riverside, died July 2, 2013 at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn.

Mr. Hermanek was raised in Berwyn, attending Hiawatha School and Morton High School, where he was valedictorian of his class. He spent two years at Morton College before being accepted at the University of Chicago Law School, where he was classmates with Abner Mikva, Robert Bork and former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark.

He graduated from law school in 1951 and was drafted into the U.S. Marines during the Korean War, following in the footsteps of his brother, Tom, who was a Marine who fought on Iwo Jima and was part of the patrol that reached the top of Mount Suribachi and raised the American flag over the island.

During the Korean War, Mr. Hermanek was stationed in San Diego and was a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps.

While on leave, he was admitted to the Illinois Bar. After the war, he worked independently and had a long career as a trial lawyer handling personal injury cases.

After the war, he married Betty Jo St. Charles, and the couple moved to a home on Maplewood Road in 1962 and lived in Riverside for the next half century.

Mr. Hermanek was also active in the Riverside Auxiliary Police Corps for more than 30 years, retiring at the rank of captain.

"He just absolutely loved it," said his son, Hubert Hermanek Jr., who was elected North Riverside's mayor in April. "His two loves were being an auxiliary police officer and being a lawyer. He never took vacations. He just loved it."

Mr. Hermanek practiced law, joining his son's law practice about 20 years ago. He worked in the practice until about two months ago, according to his son.

Cook County Circuit Judge and former ISBA Board member Russell Hartigan will be honored for 40 years of high school and college officiating by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) on July 20 at 3:15 p.m.

IHSA Assistant Executive Director Craig Anderson will make the presentation at the Officials Conference Awards Reception at the Embassy Suites Hotel in East Peoria.

Chris Mollet has been named Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the new health system created by the merger of Edward Hospital (Naperville) & Health Services and Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare.

Mollet has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare law.  He was previously the Associate University Counsel (Chief Health Law Counsel) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, including the University of Illinois Medical Center, Medical Faculty Practice Plans and Health Sciences Colleges. 

He was Senior Vice President and General Counsel for American Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. in Naperville, and Partner and Chair, Chicago Health Practice Group of the Foley & Lardner law firm in Chicago. 

Mollet earned his law degree and a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from the University of Wisconsin.

The merger, finalized on July 1, creates one of the larger integrated health systems in Illinois and is comprised of three hospitals – Edward, Elmhurst Memorial and Linden Oaks at Edward – with revenues of about $1 billion and more than 50 outpatient locations across a service area of 1.7 million residents in the west and southwest suburbs of Chicago.  The system employs nearly 7,700 and has more than 1,680 physicians on staff.