In December, a federal appeals court in Chicago declared an Illinois ban on the concealed carrying of firearms outside the home to be unconstitutional.

Two months later, state court trial judges have not yet acquitted any defendants charged with simple possession under the law and, according to an Illinois criminal-defense attorney who is closely monitoring these kinds of prosecutions, local judges are unlikely to stop enforcing the unconstitutional law until this summer.

Find out more in the March Illinois Bar Journal.

Asked and Answered

By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Q. I am the chair of our three member executive committee. We are a 20 attorney firm in Atlanta. We have 5 partners and 15 associates. We have done a terrible job of mentoring our associates and we need to do better. Do you have any ideas?

"Affordable Housing Development and Management" and "Tenant Rights in Subsidized Housing" will air on Illinois Law on Tuesdays in March. Both half hour programs will air on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago, at 10 p.m.

"Affordable Housing Development and Management" will air on March 5 and 19. Appearing on it will be (top photo, from left) Dilia Camacho-Saeedi, vice president of property management, Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, in Chicago; program moderator Nancy K. McKenna, of Provena Health, in Chicago; and Britt Shawver, chief executive officer, Housing Opportunities for Women, in Chicago.

"Tenant Rights in Subsidized Housing" will air on on March 12 and 26. Appearing on it will be (bottom photo, from left) Jeremy P. Bergstrom, staff attorney/Housing Justice, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, in Chicago; Beverly Yang, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc., in Alton; program moderator Nancy K. McKenna, of Provena Health, in Chicago; and J. Damian Ortiz, a clinical professor for the Housing Clinic at The John Marshall Law School, in Chicago.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced Wednesday the appointment of Morgan County State's Attorney Chris E. Reif as a resident circuit judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit.

Mr. Reif was appointed to fill the Circuit Court vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Richard T. Mitchell on January 2. The appointment is effective March 22, 2013 and will expire December 1, 2014, when the position will be filled by the 2014 General Election.

Supreme Court Justice Rita B. Garman recommended the appointment to the Supreme Court after a review process by a special citizen screening committee.

"I am absolutely thrilled and honored with the appointment," Mr. Reif said. "I look forward to serving the citizens of Morgan County and will continue to put forth the same work effort as I have as state's attorney for 8+ years. I will uphold the standards expected of a circuit court judge.

"I thank the Supreme Court and Justice Garman for the opportunity."

Mr. Reif graduated from Illinois State University in 1993 with a degree in criminal justice. He received his juris doctor degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 1998. After graduation, Mr. Reif was hired as an associate with the law firm then known as Grosboll, Becker, Tice & Smith and was engaged in the general practice of law. He became a named partner of the firm within a couple of years and worked there until 2004.

NOTE: This program has been canceled and will be rescheduled.

The final luncheon in this four-part series aimed at teaching law students and young attorneys’ practical steps in developing their career will be held on Wednesday, March 13 at noon at the ISBA Chicago Office, 20 S. Clark, Ste. 900.

The final luncheon program will feature four esteemed panelists who will discuss utilizing your legal skills in alternative careers.

• Tarek Fadel, Founder and CEO, AdaptiGroup LLC
• Jamie Kleppetsch, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Academic Achievement Program, John Marshall Law School
• Andrew Prindable, Partner, Bradford Settlement Company
• Elizabeth Ellis Simek, Director of Legal Recruitment and Professional Development, City of Chicago Law Department

Register at www.isba.org/sections/yld/pdl/03-13-2013

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Friday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the criminal cases People v. Rivera, People v. Evans, People v. Eppinger and People v. Somers.

CRIMINAL

People v. Rivera

By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender

Chief Judge John T. Elsner announced Friday that applications for the Office of Associate Judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit have been received from those on the list below.

The vacancy is the result of the elevation of Associate Judge Robert G. Kleeman to Circuit Judge.

As part of the review process conducted by the Circuit Judges, Chief Judge Elsner invites public comment by letter before March 7, 2013 to:

Justice Mary Ann G. McMorrow was a pioneer in opening opportunities for women in the law. She was greatly admired for her elegance, grace and style over a legal career that spanned five decades.

Justice McMorrow, 83, passed away Saturday after a brief illness.

Justice McMorrow was the first woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court and—as its Chief Justice from September 2002 to September 2005—was the first woman to head a branch of Illinois government. Or, as she put it at her swearing in as Chief, "I am the 115th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois. You will notice after I take off my robe that I am the only one of the 114 chief justices who preceded me that wears a skirt."

Justice McMorrow had a remarkable legal career.

It began with graduation as the only woman in her class from the School of Law at Loyola University in 1953, continued as the first woman to try felony cases as an assistant Cook County state's attorney and culminated with her selection as Chief by her colleagues on the Supreme Court.

She served on the Supreme Court from 1992 until her retirement July 5, 2006. Her tenure as Chief Justice began September 5, 2002 and concluded September 4, 2005.

Throughout her career, indeed throughout her lifetime, Justice McMorrow assumed and maintained a strong mentor's role for women who wished to enter and serve in the law. She accomplished this always in graceful fashion, earning the respect, admiration and fondness of colleagues, legal adversaries and ordinary citizens crossing gender lines.

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Friday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases Griggsville-Perry Community Unit School Dist. No. 4 v. Ill. Educational Labor Relations Bd. and State Bank of Cherry v. CGB Enterprises, Inc. Quick Takes on Friday's criminal opinions will be available next week.