Richard Schmack was elected DeKalb County State's Attorney on November 6, 2012.
Richard received his undergraduate degrees in History and Political Science from North Central College in 1977, his J.D. from the University of Illinois Law School, in 1980, and has been an attorney in Illinois since that time. He was an Assistant State' Attorney in DeKalb County from 1985 - 1989, served as the Village Attorney for Kirkland, and has been in private practice since 1989 in Sycamore.
He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the DeKalb County Bar Association.
Richard and his wife of 27 years, Jackie, live in Sycamore with their two adult sons, Eric, 25, and Ben, 23.
People
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November 26, 2012 |
People
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November 22, 2012 |
People
Adam Jeffrey Brenner, 45, was found dead Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in his Rockford home. The cause of death was heart disease and he passed quickly, perhaps in his sleep. He leaves behind memories of his capacity for love, his innate kindness, his wit and intelligence, his dedication to the law he practiced, his courage to be his own man, his disdain for those who would hurt the ones who love them.
His parents, Martin Brenner, Rockford, and Ghia and Allan Ackerman, Chicago, will miss him all the days of our lives. Also mourning his death are multiple relatives and friends who knew him for the unique and vibrant young man he was. May his energy combine with the universe to make it a better place.
Services have been held. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation of goods or money to the Rockford food pantry of your choice. In his life as a lawyer, Adam often served the poor. We think it would make him happy to know that his death helped to also feed them.
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November 22, 2012 |
People
Mario J. Perez, 77, of Woodstock, passed away Oct. 31, 2012, at home surrounded by his family after succumbing to prostate cancer.
He was born Jan. 19, 1935, in Seneca, to Carmen and José Perez, who immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s from Guanajuato, Mexico. He was raised in Marseilles, before moving to Chicago in the 1940s.
On May 8, 1965, he married Esther Peterson of Ames, Iowa, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Chicago.
Mario attended St. Patrick's Academy at Adams and DesPlaines streets in Chicago on a basketball scholarship and graduated in 1953, University of Illinois, Navy Pier, from 1953-55 and graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, in 1957 with a major in history and minor in anthropology. He obtained his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law in 1960. He was a member of Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity and served in the U.S. Army Reserves.
In 1960, he began practicing law in Chicago at CNA Insurance Co. After nine years in Chicago, he moved to Woodstock to work at the law offices of Josyln and Green. Soon thereafter, he started a private practice in Woodstock that he continued until 2012. From the late 70s to early 90s, he also operated an office in Waukegan.
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November 15, 2012 |
People
Richard S. Brennan, 74, of Amboy, died Oct. 10, 2012, after a three-week illness.
Mr. Brennan was born March 18, 1938, in St. Louis, the only son of Anna Pearl and Clarence R. Brennan. In 1963 he married Margaret (Jill) Wilson in Muskegon, Mich.
The family lived in Collinsville, Mo., and Memphis, Tenn. before settling permanently in Shorewood, a suburb of Milwaukee, Wis. Mr. Brennan received a BA from Princeton University in 1960 and a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1963.
He and his wife moved to New York City where Mr. Brennan began his law career with Shearman & Sterling. Two years later they transferred to Mayer Brown in Chicago, where he continued his long career. In 1969, the family, which now included two sons, was transferred to the Paris office of Mayer Brown, where they spent three years and had one more child, a daughter.
They returned to the U.S. in 1972, but were reassigned to London, England in 1974 to move the Paris office to London. That practice, of which Mr. Brennan was the leading partner, now numbers hundreds of lawyers. Mr. Brennan returned to Chicago in 1977 and in 1982 became the General Counsel of the Continental Bank. He remained General Counsel throughout the bank's transition into Bank of America, leaving in 1994. Mr. Brennan retained Mayer Brown as his base but served as General Counsel for J.I. Case in Racine, Wis., from 1995 - 1999, when it was purchased by Fiat. He subsequently served as temporary General Counsel for Stepan Company for three years. -
November 15, 2012 |
People
Jacob J. Frost has formed a new law practice in Spring Valley. He serves individual and corporate clients with expertise in estate planning, real estate, elder law, banking, business, and other fields.
Mr. Frost is a double graduate of University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana; he received his Juris Doctorate in 2006 and his B.A. in Political Science in 2003. He also received his A.A., summa cum laude, in 2001 from Illinois Valley Community College. He is active in the Illinois State Bar Association Trusts & Estates Section Council and has served as co-chairman of its Newsletter Committee for a number of years.
Mr. Frost may be reached at (815) 323-4851. -
November 14, 2012 |
People
The law firm of Schiller DuCanto & Fleck LLP proudly announced Tuesday the addition of Michele M. Jochner to its legal team. Joining the firm as a partner, she previously served as a judicial law clerk to Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Ann G. Morrow from 1987 until the Justice’s retirement from the bench in July of 2006, then serving in the same capacity to Justice Charles E. Freeman. Jochner is a recognized legal scholar, expert writer and educator to both law students and attorneys.
“It has been a true honor and privilege to have served for the past 15 years as a judicial law clerk to both Justice Mary Ann McMorrow and Justice Charles Freeman, and I sincerely thank them and the entire court for that unparalleled opportunity. During my tenure with this State's highest tribunal, I have worked on numerous high-profile matters involving cutting-edge issues of first impression, providing me with a unique breadth and depth of experience in all areas of substantive law combined with a keen understanding of the mechanics of our courts of review,” said Jochner. “I also have a career-long commitment of service through work with bar associations, community groups and charitable organizations. In charting my next step after the Illinois Supreme Court, I looked for a firm that shares my values. Schiller DuCanto & Fleck has an established reputation of legal excellence, professionalism and giving back to the profession and community. My hope is that my first-hand experiences and crucial insights into the State appellate court system will complement the practice.”
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November 8, 2012 |
People
Theodore E. Cornell, Jr., WWII Veteran, of Lake Forest, Ill. and Stuart, Fla. passed away Saturday, November 3, 2012.
Mr. Cornell was a graduate of Loyola Academy, where he played basketball and baseball and was a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame, and Loyola University where he received his Bachelor’s and Law degrees.
He completed his undergraduate studies in three and one-half years and became an instructor in the sociology department of Loyola, and was elected to the American Catholic Sociological Society. As an undergraduate he was elected to the Phi Gamma Mu and Alpha Kappa Delta and Delta Theta Phi Honor Societies and in his first year at Loyola Law School he received the Alpha Sigma Nu National Jesuit Honor Key (now Phi Beta Kappa), graduating with honors.
During WWII, he was a member of the Flying Tigers and flew 99 combat missions over the hump in the China, Burma and India Theatre. Following completion of these missions he flew the hump with the famous Search and Rescue Unit. He received two distinguished Flying Crosses, two Air Medals, the Distinguished Unit Citation and the Medal of Freedom from the Republic of China in Taiwan. Returning from service, Mr. Cornell was employed at a probation officer and assistant to judges Frank H. Bicek and Robert Jerome Dunne of the Circuit Court of Cook County. After entering law school, he was employed by the City National Bank and Trust Company where he was elected a trust officer and leaving in 1951 to practice law. After practicing law with the firms of D’Ancona & Pflaum, Wyatt, Riskind, and Ungaro, Sherwood and Grobe, he formed his own firm in Highland Park with Allan I. Wolff, Jr. and Remo N. Picchietti.
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November 8, 2012 |
People
Joseph Benjamin Higgs III of Arlington Heights passed away on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. He was born in Houston, TX on Oct. 23, 1915, to Arvilla Belle Higgs (nee Wallace) and Joseph Benjamin Higgs II.
Joseph graduated from Lake Park High School in 1933, received a B.S.S. degree from Northwestern University, in 1937, and graduated from the Northwestern School of Law in 1940. He was admitted to practice law in Illinois and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Joseph was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He was also a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Arlington Heights. An officer of the U.S. Navy, Joseph served four years during World War II.
He is survived by his wife, Maria Higgs (nee Viesel); his daughter, Karen (Gene) Jahsmann; his son, Joseph Benjamin Higgs IV; and grandsons, Joseph Benjamin Higgs V and Jeffrey Higgs.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the charity of your choice. For information, 847-253-0224.
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November 2, 2012 |
People
Justice John T. McCullough; fondly referred to as "The Judge", 81, of Lincoln, passed away at his home on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012.
Born June 15, 1931 in Streator, he was the son of Mark and Margaret Manes McCullough, the youngest of four children. His family moved to Lincoln when he was 10 years old, where he remained in the town he loved.
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November 1, 2012 |
People
McNabola Law Group is pleased to announce that Karen McNulty Enright has joined the firm as a partner. Karen has 20 years of experience representing clients who are injured through medical negligence, premises and products liability, automobile and construction accidents. Karen is a member of the ISBA Board of Governors and former treasurer of ISBA and Past President of WBAI.
Ruth M. Degnan has also joined the firm as an associate. Ruth has dedicated her nearly 20 year professional career to the representation of personal injury victims and to the families and survivors of victims of wrongful death. She is a recipient of the JVR Award for Trial Lawyer Excellence as result of her involvement in a case which resulted in the largest settlement of a psychiatric malpractice case in Illinois.