Questions may be submitted in advance to the CPA Society by e-mail, care of Jennifer Schultz at SchultzJ@ISPAS.com. Call her at (312) 993-0407, ext. 211, for more information.
Bower, a former state representative from Effingham and past chair of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, was appointed revenue director in January 1999 after a year as an assistant secretary of state and military aide to Gov. George Ryan. He was assistant revenue director from 1983 to 1990.
Past chair of the Attorneys and Tax Appeals Section of the National Association of Tax Administrators, Bower retired last year as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve General Law Division.
A 1974 graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, he is a Life Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation.
Traffic law trooper gets LL.M. in info technology
A member of the ISBA Traffic Laws and Courts Section Council received a master of laws degree in information technology in June from The John Marshall Law School.
Master Sgt. Michael D. McIntosh of Springfield, legal counsel for the Illinois State Police, completed the two-year program offered by the law school's Center for Information Technology and Privacy Law.
"As crimes and criminals become more technologically sophisticated, police need to progress in the same direction to accomplish their mission," McIntosh said.
"The police need to fix blame and garner admissible evidence of guilt," he added, despite "technological sophistication of criminals that leads to novel legal problems... I try to help police officers avoid running afoul of the law in their efforts to catch criminals."
As in-house counsel for the state police, McIntosh is called on frequently for advice by the computer crimes unit and sex offender database. Occasionally, he would bring a situation to class at John Marshall for assurance that a decision had been correct.
"Courses I took in criminal investigations and privacy issues were especially helpful," he said. John Marshall's graduate degree in information technology law is the only such program in the nation.
A graduate of the Northern Illinois University College of Law while on leave from duties as a state trooper, McIntosh was an intern in the Rock Island County state's attorney's office during law school.
He has completed the School of Police Staff and Command at the Northwestern University Traffic Institute and attended the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Law Institute for Police Legal Advisors.
Receiving LL.M. degrees at John Marshall with McIntosh were two majors from the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Department: Robert I. Smith and Stanley R. Smith.
A former Edwards County state's attorney, Stanley Smith is assigned to the Air Force Legal Services Agency at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala. As chief of the Plans and Programs Division, he helps develop software systems for other military attorneys.
Tort law, trusts and estates on Law Ed Series in October
The fall schedule of ISBA Law Ed Series seminars was scheduled to begin Friday, Sept. 15, with a program on Electronic Commercial Law in Chicago and a Family Law Update in Collinsville (see pages 12 and 13 for details).
The Commercial, Banking and Bankruptcy Law Section Council will repeat its electronic commerce seminar Friday, Sept. 29, in the Radisson Hotel, Bloomington.
The Law Ed Series schedule includes a Tort Law Section Council program Monday, Oct. 9, in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office. The topic is "Supreme Court Rule 213 and Its Impact in Tort Litigation."
The Trusts and Estates Section Council has slated presentations of "Everything You Wanted to Know About Trusts, Living or Otherwise" on Friday, Oct. 20, at the Eastland Suites Conference Center in Bloomington, and Friday, Oct. 27, in the Chicago office.
Presentations by the Federal Taxation Section Council of its 2000 Federal Tax Conference. They will take place Friday, Oct. 20, in the Chicago office, and Friday, Nov. 3, at the Radisson Hotel, Bloomington.
The Real Estate Law Section Council will provide update seminars Thursday, Nov. 2, in the Chicago office, and Friday, Nov. 10, at the Eastland Suites, Bloomington.
The Corporate Law Departments Section Council is offering early registration discounts for its presentation on Friday, Jan. 19, at the Drake Hotel, Chicago.
Board meets Oct. 27 in St. Louis
The ISBA Board of Governors will meet Friday, Oct. 27, at the Hyatt Regency Union Station, St. Louis; Friday, Feb. 2, at the Park Hyatt Hotel, Chicago; Friday, March 30, at Rend Lake Resort, Whittington, and Wednesday, May 2, at the Illinois Bar Center in Springfield, followed by a legislative reception.
The ISBA Midyear Meeting will take place Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 7 to 9, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. The Illinois Judges Association will conduct its annual convention at the hotel, with some joint programs.
Passion fruit sorbet refreshes palates amid Foundation gala's gourmet menu
The sumptuous menu for the Illinois Bar Foundation's annual black-tie gala Friday, Oct. 6, is a "can-you-to-this" concatenation of culinary creativity.
Mark Baker, the aptly named executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, where the dinner dance will take place, has been honored for his talented dishes and presentations.
For starters, Baker offers roasted Vidalia onion soup with aged Madeira, followed by a mesclun salad with balsamic vinaigrette drizzled over grilled Portobello mushrooms and oven-cured tomatoes.
After a palate refresher of passion fruit sorbet, Bar Foundation dinner will have a choice of rosemary filet mignon with Cabernet shallot sauce or roast Chilean sea bass with citrus-chive sauce. Accompaniments are Dauphinoise potatoes and grilled Mediterranean vegetables.
Toping off the feast are desserts of chocolate vanilla cake with vanilla and raspberry sauce, and vanilla crème brulee with seasonal berries.
Co-chairs of the gala, which will begin with a 6:30 p.m. reception and silent auction, are ISBA Third Vice President Terrence J. Lavin and Manuel Sanchez.
Entertainment will be provided by jazz violinist Johnny Frigo, and dance music is by the Bill Pollack Orchestra. Terry Savage will be master of ceremonies, and Michael D. Monico will conduct the live auction.
Chicago attorney Gery J. Chico, a partner in Altheimer & Gray and president of the Chicago Board of Education, will receive the foundation's Distinguished Award for Excellence.
Raffle prizes include two-night vacation getaways, donated by American Airlines, to the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., and to the LaQuinta Resort in Palm Springs, Calif.
Auction items, courtesy of American Airlines, include a deluxe weekend for two at the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, a three-night getaway for two at the St. Regis Aspen in Colorado, and one week in a two-bedroom condominium at Puerto Vallarto, Mexico.
Among others are a Lake Michigan cruise with dinner on a 60-foot yacht, courtesy of Ralph and Joan Gabric; a Chicago Cubs game rooftop party for 25 from the Cubby Bear; a White Sox game skybox for 14, and an opportunity to be guest chef in the kitchen at Charlie Trotter's restaurant.
The Circle of Friends supporting the Bar Foundation gala includes these $5,000 benefactors: Altheimer & Gray; Anesi, Ozmon, Rodin, Novak & Kohen; Clifford Law Offices; Corboy & Demetrio; Gabric, Millon & Ory; ISBA Mutual Insurance Co.; Mayer, Brown & Platt; Power, Rogers & Smith; State Farm Insurance Co., and Kathleen T. Zellner & Associates.
Patrons ($3,000) in the Circle of Friends include: Cassiday, Schade & Gloor; Commonwealth Edison; Graft, Sciaccotta & Associates; Hassakis & Hassakis; Illinois State Bar Association; Illinois Tool Works; Illinois Trial Lawyers Association; Jenner & Block; Johnson & Bell, and Lane & Lane.
Also: Terrence J. Lavin & Associates, Law Office of Tom Leahy; Monico, Pavich & Spevack; Pedersen & Houpt; Quinn, Johnston, Henderson & Pretorius; Romanucci & Blandin; Sanchez & Daniels; Sikich Group; Sosin & Lawler, and Williams, Montgomery & John.
Committee members are ISBA past presidents Tom Leahy and Todd A. Smith; Robert A. Clifford, Philip H. Corboy, William V. Johnson, Bruce M. Kohen, C. Barry Montgomery, Peer Pedersen, Antonio M. Romanucci, Rudolf G. Schade Jr., Jerold S. Solovy, Pamela B. Strobel and Kathleen T. Zellner.
For information about contributing items for the live or silent auctions, joining the Circle of Friends, or making reservations, call Mimi DesRosiers at (312) 814-0414.
Foundation grant helps Waukegan youths
The Illinois Bar Foundation has provided a $5,000 grant to REBOUND Inc., a Lake County partnership that is dedicated to directing at-risk youths toward productive and lawful lives through prevention and corrections programs.
The grant is being used for general operating support and staff training during the organization's continuing transition in a new building and redevelopment of programming.
Based in Waukegan, REBOUND serves non-violent male criminal offenders between the ages of 17 and 24 who are on probation or parole and are willing to participate in a residential treatment program aimed at independent living.
Most of REBOUND's clients come from backgrounds that foster illiteracy, poverty, substance abuse and neglect, and have limited opportunities to reform. REBOUND usually is one's last alternative before lengthy incarceration for three to five offenses.
The agency evaluates the background of each referral with a parole or probation officer. Substance abuse and psychological needs are considered to determine the ability to work effectively with the client.
REBOUND was founded in 1966 through the efforts of the 19th Circuit judiciary and the Lake County Interfaith Chaplaincy Service. The first resident client was accepted in 1968 in a classic halfway-house model of food, shelter and counseling.
In 1975, the program evolved into a treatment-oriented initiative, and land was purchased in 1992 to build a larger facility. Fire destroyed the original building in 1995, scaling back the program into smaller quarters, and operations ceased temporarily in May 1998.
The new building was completed in October 1998, and the first group of new clients entered. For more information, call executive officer Janet K. Mason, (847) 662-0945.
Acquisition benefits aired Oct. 6 at CRO
A panel discussion of post-acquisition benefit issues will be conducted from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 6, at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office by the Employee Benefits Section Council.
The speakers will be section council chair Brian K. Wydajewski of Baker & McKenzie, and past chair Gregory K. Brown of Gardner, Carton & Douglas. Council member Frances S. Cook of Aurora is the moderator.
With acquisition activity at a high level in the U.S. business world, there are significant legal and social implications regarding maintenance of benefits for employees who are retained or terminated by the new corporation.
The Employee Benefits Section Council is offering this timely and informative program free to all interested ISBA members, but space is limited. Call (312) 726-8775 for reservations.
Two ISBA cable television programs developed by the Child Law Section Council will be broadcast this month at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on Chicago Access Channel 21. "Children at Risk, Part I" will be aired Sept. 19, "Children at Risk, Part II" will appear Sept. 26.
Panelists are Cheryl Cesario, general counsel of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and Nancy Hablutzel of Northern Illinois University, both members of the Child Law Section Council, and Terry Shor, a DCFS supervisor. The moderator is John E. Thies, chair of the Special Committee on Cable Television Programming.
Judges not barred from identity on team shirts
A judge may serve as a director of a family charitable foundation or sponsor a little league team with his or her name on players' uniforms.
Those are two of the three opinions rendered recently by the Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee, a joint organization of the Illinois Judges Association, Illinois State Bar Association and Chicago Bar Association.
Opinion No. 00-1 responds to the inquiry about service on the board of a family foundation and points out limitations provided in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 65B.
A judge should not serve if it is likely that the foundation might become engaged in proceedings that ordinarily come before the judge, or would regularly engage in adversarial proceedings in any court.
A judge who serves on a foundation board should not solicit funds or other assistance, or permit use of his or her name in any manner related to solicitation.
In the cited facts, the judge would perform primarily clerical work and would not participate in the identification of grant recipients. If any foundation fund recipient appeared before the judge, he or she would recuse to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
Opinion No. 00-2 covers the duty of a judge to disqualify from a proceeding in which an uncle or cousin of his or her spouse appears. The digest follows.
"Disqualification is required where: 1. the uncle of the judge's spouse is acting as a lawyer in the proceeding; or 2. the cousin of the judge's spouse is acting as an attorney in the proceeding, and the judge's impartiality may reasonably be questioned, or the uncle, as the cousin's partner, has more than a de minimis interest in the proceeding that could be substantially affected by the outcome."
In Opinion No. 00-3, the Judicial Ethics Committee gives its blessing to sponsorship of a little league team with a judge's name on its uniforms, as long as the team is not being used to raise funds and the judge is not running for retention.