The International and Immigration Law Section Council also will greet them at the luncheon. For more information, call ISBA assistant counsel Stephanie K. Hughes at (800) 252-8908.
Attorney's trotter finishes third in Balmoral classic
It was close, but no floral wreath for St. Charles attorney Richard H. Balog. His three-year-old trotter, "Plesac," finished third by two lengths Aug. 26 in the American-National race at Chicago's Balmoral Park.
The touts picked "Plesac" second at 2-1 behind Hambletonian champion "Yankee Paco" at even money, although Balog's horse had beaten the favorite by a neck in the Canadian Trotting Classic in June.
"Plesac" also performed well for Balog, a former member of the Illinois Racing Board, during the Illinois State Fair last month in Springfield by winning two races.
The attorney, himself, has been in the limelight during the past year as a host for "Legal Ease," a local cable presentation of the Kane County Bar Association.
Moses Harrison addresses NAACP Freedom Banquet
Chief Justice Moses W. Harrison II will be keynote speaker for the 46th annual Freedom Life Membership Banquet of the East St. Louis branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The event will take place Sunday, Oct. 8, in the Regal Riverfront Hotel, St. Louis, with a VIP reception at 4 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. Call (618) 271-4698 for reservations.
Judge Milton S. Wharton of the 20th Circuit in Belleville, a member of the Illinois Bar Foundation board, is general chair of the banquet. He received the organization's Freedom Award in 1998.
Legal advisers to the NAACP chapter are Benjamin Edwards, a member of the ISBA Special Committee on the Future of the Profession; Staci M. Yandle, president of the Metro East Bar Association; Marqua Billingsley, Rex Carr and Charles J. Kolker.
Press Foundation blesses First Amendment Center
California attorney Harold "Hal" Fuson, vice president and chief legal officer of The Copley Press, will be guest speaker for the dedication of the Copley First Amendment Center in Springfield.
A highlight of the annual meetings of the Illinois Press Association and Illinois Press Foundation, the ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at the IPA's new headquarters building.
First Amendment lawyer Bruce Sanford of Washington, D.C., is the keynote speaker for the press convention opening at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, in the Prairie Capital Convention Center.
Sanford's remarks will precede a panel discussion, "Politics vs. People's Right to Know: Is Illinois too Broken to Be Fixed?" at 10:15 a.m.
Speakers include Illinois Attorney General James Ryan, State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, State Sen. Edward Petka, general counsel Roger Huebner of the Illinois Municipal League, IPA executive director David Bennett, and Anne Mullin O'Connor, the first public access counselor for the State of Indiana.
Stephen Anderson, editor of the ISBA Bar News, and Lanning Macfarland Jr., publisher of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, serve on the Illinois Press Foundation board.
The ISBA Committee on Legal Technology is the sponsor of a Basic Computer Training Boot Camp that will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, in the Capital City Center, Springfield. Registration will begin at 8:15 a.m.
The cost is $135 for ISBA members, plus $115 for each additional registrant from the same firm, including attorneys, paralegals, secretaries and staff. The non-member fee is $200. To register, call Brenda Todt at the Illinois Bar Center, (800) 252-8908.
The course will be taught by a professional instructor from MacAcademy Windows Academy, with assistance in specific applications from committee members David B. Yavitz and Todd Flaming.
Windows Operating System basics will be discussed at 9 a.m.; Microsoft Word, basic and intermediate, at 10:15 a.m.; Microsaoft Powerpoint, basic, at 1:15 p.m.; Microsoft Excel, basic, at 2:15 p.m., and Internet Browser and e-mail basics at 3:30 p.m.
In the Internet session, Yavitz and Flaming will teach participants how to use e-mail programs and access the World Wide Web with Netscape and Internet Explorer web browser programs.
By James R. Covington III
Director of Legislative Affairs
A number of new public acts affecting local government is summarized in this issue of the Capitol chronicle.
Local Records Archiving and GIS Fee. PA 91-886 deletes current law's requirement that if a record that must be retained longer than 10 years is electronically digitized, it must also be microfilmed. It also allows the original of a reproduced record to be disposed of if (1) the reproduction process forms a durable medium that accurately and legibly reproduces the original in all details, that does not permit additions, deletions, or changes to the original, and, if electronic, is stored in a trustworthy manner so that the information is accessible and useable for reference at all times while the information must be retained; (2) the reproduction is retained for the prescribed retention period; and (3) the Local Records Commission is notified when the original record or the reproduced record is disposed of. A county that establishes a countywide map using a Geographic Information System (GIS) is authorized to charge $3 for each filing with the county clerk to fund it. Effective Jan. 1, 2001.
Trimming Back Brush. PA 91-902 requires electric public utilities to give notice to the affected residents and the mayor or county board chairman when they conduct "non-emergency vegetation management activities" in municipalities and in unincorporated areas of counties. The public utilities' actions must be consistent with the most current guidelines established by the International Society of Arboriculture and any applicable standards established by OSHA or the American National Standards Institute. Effective July 6, 2000.
Open Meetings and Security. PA 91-730 amends the Open Meetings Act to change the current exemption for security procedures to delete current requirements that the security be for an emergency and that the danger be described in the motion to close the meeting. It also makes this exemption applicable to threatened or reasonably potential dangers as well as actual dangers. Effective Jan. 1, 2001.
Township Plan Commissions. PA 91-738 allows Cook County townships of more than 500 residents to form a plan commission. Effective Jan. 1, 2001. PA 91-721 also expands the number of townships permitted to establish a planning commission. Any township (now, only those with a population of more than 500 persons) in counties of less than 600,000 persons (all counties except Cook And DuPage) would be authorized to establish a plan commission to prepare and recommend to the township board a comprehensive plan for the present and future development or redevelopment of the unincorporated areas of the township. Effective June 2, 2000.
No Clear Cutting Near Water. PA 91-907 prohibits the "clear cutting" of mature or established trees within 15 yards of navigable waters unless it is exempted under the Act. Municipalities are exempted for highway, bridge, or drainage projects, but the Department of Natural Resources is required to adopt rules allowing municipalities with a population of 500,000 or less to seek waivers for "necessary socioeconomic development projects." Effective Jan. 1, 2001.
A proposal for an ISBA-sponsored prototype certification program for estate planning, trust and probate lawyers is being circulated to section councils and committees for review and comment (ISBA Bar News, September 1, page 1). Following are excerpts from the position statement of the Trusts and Estates Section Council.
* * *
As early as 1950, the American Bar Association began to formally recognize and encourage legal specialization. The ABA helped establish pilot programs in California in 1973 and in Texas in 1974.
The California bar selected the fields of workers' compensation, taxation and criminal law, while Texas chose the fields of family law, criminal law and labor law as areas for certification of practitioners.
In the more than 25 years since, both programs have been highly successful, and more have followed. Initially the growth of certification for lawyers was slow. Generally, resistance came from new lawyers, rural lawyers and older lawyers.
New lawyers feared certification would be a barrier to career advancement. Rural lawyers feared certification would create an elite class of urban specialists to their exclusion, and older lawyers feared the process of taking a test. Despite this, the programs grew. . .
The ISBA Trusts and Estates Section has studied the certification programs of a number of states, especially California, Tennessee, Ohio and Texas. Their administrators, and also the directors of the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils and the ABA Program of Specialty Certification, have met with or advised the section on a variety of issues to be considered.
This document attempts to summarize the problems and arguments for and against certification of legal specialists and, moreover, the experience of specialty certification programs already in place.
The goal of the Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Practice Certification Program is to identify Illinois lawyers who meet or exceed minimum levels of proficiency, and who adhere to the ethical standards inherent to the practice.
As a result of certification, the practitioner is distinguished in his or her estate planning, trust and probate practice, especially from non-lawyer providers of these services, and it helps the certified practitioner gain recognition for proficiency in the practice area.
The program should improve the general public's perception of the profession by demonstrating the bar's commitment to quality of practice in the specialty, while encouraging the estate planning, trust and probate lawyer to adhere to professional standards and the advancement of new developments within the practice area.
The program is intended to be a reliable, quality improvement mechanism for estate planning, trust and probate lawyers, which will also benefit the bar (via positive public relations) and the public (who will be able to make better-informed choices).
The program should produce significant benefits for the public, in that consumers seeking legal services will be empowered with important, factual information for their use in choosing an attorney who meets the consumer's needs and preferences.
In virtually all fields of commerce (including, particularly, the medical and accounting professions), consumers have access to ratings, certifications or other information which allows them to select the "right tool for the right job." A primary goal of this program is to better serve the public by giving them access to information which should assist in their decision-making processes.
The goal of the certification program is to identify practitioners who, through experience, education, substantial involvement and examination, have demonstrated that they are proficient estate planning, trust and probate lawyers. The goal is not to identify or create a class of super specialists or an elitist group.
The success of the program depends on its fairness and integrity. The selection of the committee members responsible for its administration must be based upon the skills, knowledge and, most importantly, their commitment to the administration of the program with fairness and credibility.
It is not the intent of the certification program to in any way restrict or inhibit the practice of estate planning, trust and probate law by any attorney licensed to practice by the Illinois Supreme Court, and certification is not intended to be a qualification for practice within these areas.
All licensed Illinois lawyers would be left to practice estate planning, trust and probate law within the state, irrespective of the existence of a program or lack of certifications of any lawyer.
Stephen Anderson
Editor
Class ceiling cleft
The speed of enlightenment call it "marvelocity" sometimes doesn't travel very swiftly in merrie olde England.
Hence the really big news in London, while the ISBA entourage were on holiday there last month, was: The 18-year-old girls outscored the boys on college qualifying exams for the first time in the 49 years they have been administered.
Girls took more A-level tests than boys (54% of 350,000 students), achieved a higher proportion of the top three grades (59.8% to 56.3%), and had a lower failure rate (9.9% to 11.9%).
Girls got more A grades in 21 of 31 subjects tested, including law, business, sport studies, psychology, chemistry and physics. Boys did better in English, French, German, Spanish, religious studies and computing.
You'd think this would come as startlingly good news to at least the female segment of the Brit educational community. Wrong!
The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers called for "a rigorous investigation into boys' underachievement." Baroness Blackstone, minister of higher education, said the government is "taking steps to address boys' under-performances. . . We need to understand much more about what is obviously a complex phenomenon."
On cue, the government in night session demanded action to stamp out signs of "macho anti-school culture," and commissioned a Cambridge college to conduct "an immediate study of how to raise boys' standards without disadvantaging girls."