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  • February 27, 2012 | People
    Chicago attorney Adam Whiteman pens musical drama celebrating local folk hero Francis O’Neill

    Chicago lawyer, Adam Whiteman, has written and is now producing a musical drama celebrating the life and times of Francis O’Neill, the Chicago Chief of Police who is widely revered for his efforts to preserve and revive traditional Irish music.

    Whiteman, who lives in Highland Park and maintains a Loop office, concentrates on general business law, litigation and real estate. He is an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and is the editor of the Real Property Newsletter for the Real Estate Section Counsel. He is also a chair certified arbitrator for the Lake and Cook County mandatory arbitration program and serves as an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association with regard to commercial disputes.

    In addition to his full-time law practice, Whiteman is a composer, record producer and playwright. Whiteman is the founder of Big Chicago Records (www.bigchicago.com), a label dedicated to Chicago’s diverse music scene. The label has sold well over 100,000 albums from record stores, museums, airports and gift shops all over the greater Chicago area. Albums produced by Whiteman include “A Chicago Blues Tour”, “A Chicago Jazz Tour”, “The Chicago Music Scene” and “Musica Latina Chicago.”  Whiteman was a music major at the University of Wisconsin Madison where he studied French Horn performance and composition. His compositions appear on his albums and have been used in commercial settings.

  • February 23, 2012 | People
    Hon. Don A. Foster 1932-2012

    The Honorable Don A. Foster, 79, of Ridgway passed away Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, at Harrisburg Medical Center, after a lengthy struggle with cancer.

    Judge Foster was born March 2, 1932, west of Ridgway on the family farm, to Joseph and Lottie (Baker) Foster. He graduated from Ridgway High School in 1949.

    Don served his country from 1952 to 54 in the U.S. Army in Korea; he was awarded the Korean Service Medal. In 1957 he graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in zoology. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1960. While in Nashville he met and married Fay Smith on Sept. 2, 1959. Upon graduation, he returned to Ridgway and practiced law.

    In 1962 he was elected Gallatin County Judge. Two years later he was appointed Associate Circuit Judge, and he became a Circuit Judge in 1970. He served the citizens of Gallatin County and the Second Circuit for over 46 years until his retirement in 2008.

    He is survived by his wife, Fay, and four daughters, Kelly Foster of Marion, Tracy Kimbro of Apex, N.C., Meridith (Steve) Carder of Champaign and Mariah (Jason) Knight of Thompsonville. He was grandfather to seven grandchildren: Mary and Jeff Kimbro, Jolie and Savannah Knight, and Ella, Ava and Liza Carder. His eldest brother, Bertis J. Foster of Metropolis, also survives. Judge Foster was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Gene Foster; and sister, Wilma Wathen.

  • February 23, 2012 | People
    Wallace Feldman 1927-2012

    Wallace Feldman, 84, of Sterling Illinois, died January 15, 2012 at his home.

    He was born April 21st, 1927 to Emil and Ida (Andich) Feldman in Rock Island, Illinois and moved to Sterling in 1933.

    He was owner and operator of Emil’s Toy Store, which was an icon in the Sterling area for over fifty years, and of the Sterling-Rock Falls News Agency, which is still operating today. He spent his youth helping out with the family businesses.

    Wally graduated from Sterling High School in 1945 and was a Sergeant in the 2nd Infantry Division just prior to the end of World War II. He received his law degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign, having started his studies at the Galesburg campus which was set up to accommodate the overflow of G.I.’s going to school on the G.I. Bill after the war.

    He practiced law in Sterling for over fifty years, was a member of the Sterling Police & Fire Commission for over two decades, sat on the board of directors of Self Help Enterprises, was a lifelong member of Lions Club and was active in the local Jewish community as a member and former president of Temple Sholom.

    He married Shirley (Leibovitz) in 1953 in Rock Island and is survived by her as well as by three children, Randy Feldman, Mpls; Kenny (Amy) Feldman, Sterling; Amy (Todd) Cytron, Mpls; nine grandchildren (Ethan & Toby Feldman; Libby, Rina, Miriam, & Ronit Feldman; Hanah, Dara & Mia Cytron), and a brother, Robert (Joy), Torrance, CA.

  • February 23, 2012 | People
    E.C. “Chris” Eberspacher III 1941-2012

    E.C. “Chris” Eberspacher III of Shelbyville died at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, from injuries received as a pedestrian in a crosswalk in Fort Myers, Fla.

    He was born on Sept. 28, 1949, in Shelbyville to the late Judge Edward C. Eberspacher Jr. and Josephine Yantis Eberspacher. He married Jacqueline Dunaway on July 1, 1972, in Shelbyville. He graduated from Shelbyville High School and Culver Summer Naval School in 1967. 

    He received a Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts and science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1971, with high honors, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi social fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa academic fraternity.

    He was a recipient of a Rotary International Scholarship and studied at the University of Tel Aviv, Remat Aviv, Israel, for more than a year before entering law school. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1974 and was admitted to practice before the Illinois Supreme Court in 1974. He joined the firm of Dove & Dove, Attorneys at Law, as an associate that fall. 

    He was admitted to the bar of the U. S. Supreme Court in 1981 and was admitted to practice before the Central and Southern Districts of the U. S. District Court in Illinois. In 1976, he was elected State’s Attorney for Shelby County, a position in which he served until 1980, when he became a partner with the firm of Dove & Dove. 

  • February 23, 2012 | People
    Jay M. Hanson 1940-2012

    Jay McCartney Hanson, 71, of Geneseo, passed away at home Jan. 30, 2012, after a courageous battle of several months duration.

    Jay was born on Sept. 27, 1940, in rural Hillsdale, the son of J. McCartney "Pete" Hanson and Eleanor Dailey Hanson. He was raised in rural Hillsdale and attended Hillsdale schools. Jay graduated from Geneseo High School in 1958. He attended Lawrence College in Appleton, Wis., and Mexico City College and graduated from the University of Idaho in 1962 and the University of Idaho College Law in 1965. Jay was united in marriage to Judy Bond in 1963.

    He began his law career in Geneseo and, in 1969, he was appointed as the youngest circuit magistrate in the state of Illinois; less than a year later, Jay was appointed associate judge of the circuit court. In 1976, he ran for and was elected to a full circuit judgeship in the 14th Judicial Circuit; he left in 1982 to practice law in Thompson Falls, Mont. Jay returned to Illinois in 1986 and ran again for circuit judge, serving until his retirement in 2000.

    Survivors include his wife, Judy; four daughters, Jennifer (David) Squire, Baraboo, Wis., Mari Hanson, Fountain Hills, Ariz., Sarah (David) Humphreys, Pensacola, Fla., Kristina (Eric) Misfeldt, Geneseo; grandchildren, Sarah Grant, Tuesday Grant, Paige Squire, Sophia Squire, Signe Anna Squire, Brittany Frus, Kristina Humphreys, Zach Humphreys, Drake Misfeldt, Eleanor Misfeldt, Zane Misfeldt; sisters, Kathleen Hanson, Cottonwood, Ariz., and Priscilla Middleton, Sarasota, Fla.

  • February 23, 2012 | People
    Arnstein & Lehr promotes 2 ISBA members to partner

    Arnstein & Lehr LLP is pleased to announce that two attorneys elevated to partner in the firm’s Chicago office.

    W. Matthew Bryant is a member of the firm’s Construction and Litigation Practice Groups in Chicago. He focuses his practice on construction and commercial litigation and dispute resolution. Bryant received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

    Mary Ann Sullivan is a member of the firm’s Property Tax Appeals, Real Estate and Tax Practice Groups in Chicago. Her practice focuses on property assessment law, ad valorem taxation and real estate law. Sullivan received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and her law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

  • February 22, 2012 | People
    Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund appoints Arden Miner to run process service subsidiary

    Arden Miner, who joined the legal department of Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG) in 2001, has been promoted to executive vice president and CEO at ATG LegalServe, Inc., a subsidiary of ATG.

    ATG LegalServe, formed during the fall of 2009, is a process service company that has grown from two employees to 12 in less than three years. LegalServe is also a full-service litigation support provider. Miner and Operations Manager Robert Rusch have a combined 32 years of serving the legal profession.

    “LegalServe is a logical service for ATG to provide because we already have a broad reach through our extensive network of lawyers,” says ATG CEO Peter Birnbaum.  “We’ve come a long way in just two years. Arden’s deep and varied experience with ATG and her wide range of skills make her the perfect fit for the top position at this subsidiary. We are confident she will provide the kind of leadership that will continue to grow this business and make it the premier process server in the Midwest.” 

    Starting in 2001, Miner worked as an attorney in the ATG legal and underwriting departments;  in 2004 she was promoted to senior manager of the demanding underwriting and escrow departments. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association, a past chairperson for the CBA Real Property Law Committee, and current Vice Chair of the UPL and Multi-Disciplinary Law Committees. Miner served on the board of the Illinois Land Title Association until her switch to ATG LegalServe and has been a frequent speaker for IICLE and ATG Legal Education seminars.

  • February 22, 2012 | People
    Graves receives Lansing lawyer of the year award

    Best Lawyers of America has named James F. Graves the "2012 Lansing Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs Lawyer of the Year" for the second consecutive year.

    Graves, a partner with the Sinas Dramis Law Firm, has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America in the field of personal injury litigation each year since 2006. He is licensed to practice in Michigan and Illinois. He received the Leo A. Farhat Outstanding Attorney Award from the Ingham County Bar Association in 2004. Graves is the Past President of the Ingham County Bar Association and the Ingham County Bar Foundation. He is a sustaining member of the Michigan Association for Justice and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

    The Sinas Dramis Law Firm represents personal injury clients throughout Michigan and Illinois. Jim Graves and other members of the Sinas Dramis firm can be reached at (517) 394-7500. Firm bios can be viewed at www.sinasdramis.com.

  • February 17, 2012 | People
    Casciato and Ouyang join Stellato & Schwartz as associates

    Stellato & Schwartz, Ltd. is pleased to announce the addition of two new associates, who are recent admittees to the Illinois Bar: Jack J. Casciato, a graduate of the University of The District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and Ryan H. Ouyang, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. Mr. Casciato will be working in the Chicago office and Mr. Ouyang in the firm's Schaumburg office.

  • February 17, 2012 | People
    Jean Allard 1924-2012

    Jean Allard was the first female partner at the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and, along with former University of Chicago President Hanna Holborn Gray, was among the first women to become members of the exclusive Chicago Club.

    In 1979, Ms. Allard helped start and became the first chairwoman of the Chicago Network, an organization of influential local women. Her motivation in launching the group was to foster the idea of women helping women, said MarySue Barrett, a member of the Chicago Network who succeeded Ms. Allard as president of the Metropolitan Planning Council in 1996.

    Read the full obituary in the Chicago Tribune