Maureen McDonald, as adult guardianship steward, was the baling wire that held the scattered sheaves together for 20 years. Though feared at times, she was respected all the time and was ever thoughtful during individuals' times of despair.
Sara Chapman, one of the two lawyers who perished, bestowed a smile on every harried colleague and hassled client. She could work late and rise early on game legs to walk Roxie, the stray dog she adopted. More than once, she shepherded pregnant single women to hospitals.
John Slater was the model of a public interest lawyer always burdened with an unwieldy caseload but never, never too busy to talk to a client, whatever the hour. He kept an array of toys in his office for troubled children who needed cheering up.
Speakers at the memorial service called them all indomitable, perpetually optimistic people who left the world better off than it was before them. Bill Gomez said Sara and John helped children live as children ought to live. Veronica Robinson said they gave hope to the hopeless and help to the helpless.
The quoted scriptural words, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends," seemed especially apt.
It is no stretch to imagine that John, a marathoner, could have bounded with ease to the safety of the 27th floor. It's more than likely, though, that he stayed back to assist and, finally, to solace his stricken friends, Sara and Maureen.
Robert Harris got it right near the end of the celebration. "Civil rights lawyers is exactly what they were," he said of John Slater and Sara Chapman. "They saw wrongs and they fought against them."
Similar tributes were given elsewhere to Janet Grant, a Forest Preserve District attorney who handled sensitive employment grievances with alacrity and understanding.
These unreasonable deaths must result in reasons resolves that building codes and firefighting procedures need to be changed. It is a waste of precious time to be pointing fingers of blame.
The drooping of the colors
While the powers that might have been were playing mumbletypeg with the sword of truth, victims of their ostensible bungles were celebrated by grieving colleagues and kin, and laid to rest.
Looking down from the charred Cook County office building where they perished Oct. 17, the spirits of attorneys Sara Chapman, Janet Grant and John Slater, and three others, would discover something oddly out of alignment on Daley Plaza below.
In strangely retarded tribute, one of three flags mounted on tall staffs east of the Picasso had been lowered half way. Just one: the Cook County banner. The flags of the City of Chicago and United States of America still dangled limply from the peaks of their poles (see photo on page 1).
The case can be made that the Star-Spangled Banner may be lowered only by presidential order, such as after Sept. 11, 2001, or some other specified occasion like Memorial Day. Section 7 of Chapter 1 of Title 4 of the United States Code is clear on ways Old Glory can be displayed.
But what protocol prevented symbiotic lowering of the Chicago city flag? It can't be that some martinet decided the city and county must appear to be independent of each other unless and until they are found mutually culpable in court for the tragedy.
The city and county are interdependent. They inhabit the same stone domicile, rather like spouses who sometimes bicker but always share their fortunes and misfortunes. The bell tolls for both, when the horrific death of even one of their progeny diminishes all.
Retired judge Philip Lieb, an honored savant of matrimonial law, said it best in a subsequent letter to the Chicago Tribune.
"In the death of these devoted citizens, the public should be reminded of how fortunate we are that there are good souls who enter public service to serve the common good."
One way would have been to lower both the county and city flags on Daley Plaza.
12th Circuit gets OK to fill seats
Two long-vacant associate judgeships in the 12th Circuit will soon be filled. Applications were accepted through Nov. 5 by Chief Judge Stephen D. White.
The vacancies occurred last year, when Associate Judges Carla Alessio Goode and Richard J. Schoenstedt were elected to the circuit court. They were not filled previously because sufficient funding for the judiciary was not provided by the legislature.
The 12th Circuit also hopes to be able to add two resident circuit judges, based on population increases, by appointment from the Illinois Supreme Court or by election in 2004.
Retired judges meet
James J. Wimbiscus, retired judge of the 13th Circuit, has issued an invitation to colleagues who live or spend winters in Florida to join his group for periodic lunches in the Naples, Marco Island and Bonita Springs area.
Wimbiscus, who hails from Spring Valley and has a home in Naples, can be reached by calling (239) 598-0938 or sending an e-mail to jimnjude@webtv.net. Dates and locations also may be obtained from Bernie Carey at (239) 592-0229.
Recent appointments
Associate Judge John M. Goodwin Jr. of the 20th Circuit in St. Clair County became a full circuit judge Nov. 1. He replaces Robert J. O'Fallon, who retired at the end of October.
Clay County State's Attorney Alan Buck will become the 4th Circuit's resident judge in the county on Dec. 1. He replaces Patrick L. Duke, who died Aug. 10 of cancer.
Sycamore attorney William P. Brady, a former DeKalb County prosecutor, has been elected by the 16th Circuit as an associate judge. He will fill the seat formerly held by Associate Judge Robbin J. Stuckert, who was elevated to the circuit court.
Assistant Cook County public defender David B. Atkins has been appointed to a vacancy on the Cook County Circuit Court. He will serve until Dec. 6, 2004, filling the vacancy of Jacqueline B. Cox, who was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
New chief is elected
Judge Ronald Tenold of the 9th Circuit was elected by his peers to become chief judge. Former Chief Judge William Henderson, who has held the position since 1999, decided not to seek a third term but will remain on the bench.
Judge Gerald Bender heads 2nd association
By Stephen Anderson
Many reasons are given by lawyers when asked why they chose legal careers. Answers range from a desire to do something good for humanity to having been inspired by an icon of the profession, real or fictional.
Gerald C. Bender's inspiration to enter law school came from his father, who was not a lawyer. He was a painter by profession, and he put his son to work painting the interiors of closets.
The malodorous environment of those confined spaces encouraged young Bender to escape to the relative wholesomeness of stuffy classrooms at The John Marshall Law School.
He graduated in 1968 and was a sole practitioner in Chicago for the next 28 years, during which he served as president of the Decalogue Society and for a time represented Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal.
Bender was elected to the Cook County Circuit Court in 1996 and has served since then in the Domestic Relations Division. He was installed Sept. 14 as president of the 80-member Jewish Judges Association, which he was instrumental in establishing last year.
Marital litigation can take unusual turns. One case in Bender's courtroom involved a dispute over the fate of embryos a divorcing couple had conceived through in vitro fertilization and had frozen.
Away from chambers, Bender devotes some of his energy and charity to renovation of a century-old Jewish cemetery in Lomza, Poland, where his father was born. He was permitted to bring a Torah scroll from Poland to the United States to be restored.
Hebrew University in Jerusalem has honored Bender with a Fellowship Award, and he has received a Humanitarian Award from the Holocaust Foundation of Illinois and a Distinguished Service Award from John Marshall.
He serves on the boards of the law school alumni association and the Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation, and he is an adviser to the president of Wright Junior College.
As president of the Jewish Judges, an organization that includes both active and retired federal and state jurists, Bender conducts business meetings and participates in an impressive schedule of educational programs (see related story).
He works closely with circuit court colleague Robert E. Gordon, who chaired the inaugural installation dinner and serves as treasurer of the association.
Other officers are Vice Presidents Edward R. Burr, Morton Denlow, Allen S. Goldberg and Shelley Sutker-Dermer; Corresponding Secretary Ronald S. Davis, and Recording Secretary Lori M. Wolfson.
Rounding out the board of directors are Richard J. Elrod, James R. Epstein, Sheldon C. Garber, Richard P. Goldenhersh, Moshe Jacobius, Jordan Kaplan, Stuart A. Nudelman, Ilana D. Rovner, Seymour Simon, and past president Aaron Jaffe.
Jewish Judges slate programs
Committees of the Jewish Judges Association are conducting two series of educational programs at 12 noon on Tuesdays in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office.
Cultural Committee programs are: Nov. 18 "Was Christopher Columbus a Jew?" with Nate Yellin; Dec. 16 "English Jews Coming to Chicago," with David Marco.
Religious Committee programs with Rabbi Hertz are: Dec. 2 "Miracles and Wonders: Do They Really Happen?"; March 2 "Jewish and Civil Law: How Are They Alike and Different?"; June 1 "Jewish Response to Anti-Semitism."
CVLS to honor Judge Sheldon Garber on Dec. 3
Cook County Judge Sheldon C. Garber will be honored Wednesday, Dec. 3, by the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation during its annual reception from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. at The John Marshall Law School.
Judge Garber, who is supervising judge of the Forcible Entry and Detainer Section, will receive the CVLS Court of Honor Award for his patience and understanding of the predicaments of indigent clients and the pro bono attorneys who represent them.
Representatives of several neighborhood legal assistance clinics coordinated by CVLS also will be honored.
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"Through the Eyes of a Child," the annual benefit for the Child Friendly Courts Foundation children's waiting room in the 18th Circuit Judicial Center, will take place Friday, Nov. 21, at the Brookfield Zoo.
Planned by the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers, which established the foundation and recently expanded the courthouse facility, the formal event will begin at 6 p.m. with a reception in the Seven Seas underwater pavilion. Dinner and dancing will follow in the Discovery Center.
Reservations at $100 per person may be made by calling ISBA Third Vice President Irene F. Bahr at (630) 462-1113.
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The annual fall benefit of the Chicago Bar Foundation will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Museum of Science and Industry. The Christmas Around the World exhibit will be featured.
The evening includes a light buffet dinner, silent auction, entertainment and children's activities. Tickets are $75 for adults over 18 and $25 for children over 5. Call (312) 554-1204.
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The Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services will hold a benefit dinner at the Chicago Club and performance of the Chicago Bar Association Christmas Spirits show at the Merle Reskin Theater on Thursday, Dec. 11.
During the dinner, James R. Thompson will receive the William H. Avery Award for Commitment to the Delivery of Legal Services. Tickets for dinner and show are $100. Call Molly Bukro at (312) 986-4225.
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The Will County Bar Association Pro Bono Project will present awards during a reception Thursday, Nov. 20, in Joliet. Call (815) 726-0383.
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The DuPage County Bar Association Lawyers Lending a Hand project for November and December will involve sorting and distributing coats and toys to charitable organizations (ISBA Bar News, October, page 11).
Volunteers will meet Tuesday, Nov. 25, at the bar center in Wheaton to categorize donated coats for delivery to centers that assist needy families. On Tuesday, Dec. 16, they will deliver toys that are collected at the association's annual holiday party.
For more information, call Eddie Wollenberg at (630) 668-2415 or Paul Marchese at (630) 681-2255.
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DuPage County attorneys James F. McCluskey and Thomas A. Else made good on pledges of about $2,600 to the bar association's legal aid service through their performances in the recent Chicago Marathon. McCluskey, a DCBA past president, doubled that to $5,200 with a personal donation.
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The ISBA Elder Law Section Council and Prairie State Legal Services conducted a training session Nov. 5 in Sterling for lawyers who represent elderly clients in need of long-term care planning.
For information about future training programs, call Gail T. Walsh at Prairie State in Rockford, (815) 965-2134.
Jurists receive Council awards
Cook County Judges Jacqueline P. Cox, Leo Holt and Anthony Young were honored by the Illinois Judicial Council during its annual reception Oct. 16 in Chicago. Judge Cox received the Edith Sampson Award, Judge Holt the Charles E. Freeman Pioneer in Justice Award, and Judge Young the Kenneth E. Wilson Award.
Judge Jane L. Stuart, retiring chair of the council, presented Chairperson Awards to Presiding Judge E. Kenneth Wright of the 1st Municipal District, W. L. Lillard of Star Planet Television, and Milton Moses of Community Insurance Center. Retired jurists William Cousins, Charles May and William S. Wood received Career Service Awards.