Plans continue to build to 127th Annual Meeting
The 127th ISBA Annual Meeting will take place Thursday, June 19, through Sunday, June 22, at The Abbey on Lake Geneva, where Terrence J. Lavin of Chicago will succeed Loren S. Golden of Elgin as president.
For information about availability of accommodations at The Abbey, or nearby Lake Lawn Lodge and Interlaken Resort, call (800) 558-2405.
Organizational business sessions of many ISBA committees and section councils, and the Task Force on Unauthorized Practice of Law, will be conducted during the Annual meeting.
On Thursday, June 19, the Illinois Bar Foundation board of directors will meet at 2 p.m., and the ISBA Mutual Insurance Co. board of directors at 8:30 a.m.
The Bar Foundation and ISBA Mutual will maintain information tables on Thursday and Friday, as will Global Holidays, the affiliated travel coordinator.
Affiliated vendors that will exhibit only on Friday are Lexis-Nexis, Legal Dox Inc., Marsh Affinity Group (member insurance), ABA Members Retirement Program, Geico Direct (auto insurance), Guaranty Trust Co. and Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund.
The Lawyers' Assistance Program also will have an information table on Friday. ISBA publications and services brochures will be on display Thursday and Friday.
Admissions May 8 to add class of 660 new lawyers
About 660 new Illinois lawyers will be admitted Thursday, May 8, during five statewide ceremonies conducted by the Supreme Court. Following is the schedule of dates, sites, ISBA speakers and estimated number of admittees at each program.
1st District (431) 10:30 a.m. at the Arie Crown Theater, McCormick Place, Chicago; ISBA President Loren S. Golden.
2nd District (67) 10 a.m. at the Hemmens Memorial Building Auditorium, Elgin; ISBA President-elect Terrence J. Lavin. An ISBA reception will follow in the north foyer.
3rd District (33) 11 a.m. at the U.S. District Courthouse, Rock Island; ISBA Second Vice President Ole Bly Pace III.
4th District (16) 10:30 a.m. in the first floor courtroom at the Illinois Supreme Court Building, Springfield; ISBA past president Tim Eaton. An ISBA reception will follow in the second floor courtroom.
5th District (113) 2 p.m. at the Gateway Convention Center, Collinsville; ISBA Third Vice President Robert K. Downs. An ISBA reception will follow in the lobby area.
For more information, call Eva Tramutolo at the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, (312) 565-2600.
Amendments to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 298 and four sections of the Illinois Compiled Statutes that would bring them into conformity, and clarify and simplify language, were adopted April 4 by the ISBA Board of Governors.
The Committee on Delivery of Legal Services proposed changes in the rule on Application to Sue or Defend as a Poor Person to offer clear guidance to the courts, legal service providers and pro bono attorneys who represent indigents.
The changes "would clarify the standards of the rule for both the people seeking to apply under these provisions, as well as the county clerks who help process these applications in the courts," said ISBA general counsel Dennis A. Rendleman.
In Rule 298(a)(1), an indigent, minor or incompetent applicant would have to reveal receiving assistance from public benefits programs such as Supplemental Security Income, Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, food stamps, general assistance, state transitional or children and family assistance.
In addition to existing requirements involving income, assets, employment status and meritorious claim or defense, an applicant would have to reveal receiving or paying child support, and the number of dependents living in the household.
If the application were granted by the court, the applicant could be permitted to sue or defend without payment of fees, costs or charges, and obtain representation by appointed counsel on a pro bono basis, except as ordered by the court.
The amended rule would apply only to pro se litigants and private pro bono work, and not to eligible clients of civil legal services providers.
Portions of 725 ILCS 5/5-105, 5/5-105.5, 5/5-5-106, and 5/5-107 would require amendments to conform to changes in Rule 298. The Board of Governors agreed to incorporate the statutory amendments into the ISBA legislative package.
NABE to honor Bob Craghead as exemplary leader
ISBA executive director Robert E. Craghead will join an elite group of bar leaders in August, when he receives the 26th Bolton Award for Professional Excellence from the National Association of Bar Executives.
The award will be presented Friday, Aug. 8, at the Marriott Hotel in San Francisco during the annual joint luncheon of the NABE, the National Conference of Bar Presidents and National Conference of Bar Foundations.
Established in 1978, the Bolton Award recognizes exemplary service to the national association and legal profession, improvements to the administration of justice, professionalism, humanitarianism, camaraderie, congeniality and character.
A career bar executive, Bob Craghead joined the ISBA staff as assistant director of professional services in 1975 after graduating from Illinois College in Jacksonville.
He held that position along with responsibilities as director of meetings until 1983, when he was appointed director of membership services. Named assistant executive director in 1991, he became ISBA executive director in 1994 after Jon W. DeMoss left to head the ISBA Mutual Insurance Co.
An active member of NABE since 1980, Craghead has served on committees on education and programs, and has spoken at programs of the ABA Bar Leadership Institute and New Bar Executives Institute. He has facilitated several retreats for regional bar association leaders.
"Bob has established a reputation in this state as someone who cares deeply about the legal profession and has the dedication and ability to get things done," said ISBA past president Tim Eaton in support of Craghead's nomination for the Bolton Award.
President Loren S. Golden added his reliance on Craghead's intellect, integrity, insight and kindness. "His knowledge and understanding of the day-to-day operations of the ISBA ... is encyclopedic and utterly, thoroughly reliable."
Another past president, Herb Franks, noted that Craghead "is gracious to the nth degree to everyone. He is knowledgable about what it takes to make a bar association tick and what it takes to make members respond in a positive way to a voluntary association."
This will be the second time an ISBA executive director is singled out for the Bolton Award. John H. Dickason was honored by NABE in 1983.
Illinois Channel will emulate C-SPAN
Illinois Channel, a statewide public affairs television channel based in Springfield, has received a $3,000 grant from the Illinois Bar Foundation.
"Its mission, which is very similar to that of C-SPAN, is to provide unedited, uninterrupted televised coverage of all three branches of state government for the purpose of public education and public service," said IBF board member April G. Troemper, who investigated the grant application.
"More specifically," she said, "Illinois Channel seeks to provide citizens of Illinois with the means to watch their state government at work, and to provide elected and appointed officials with a direct conduit to citizens."
The Bar Foundation grant will help the television channel continue to develop coverage of the judicial branch of government and other activities related to the administration of justice.
Such content will include oral arguments before the Illinois Supreme Court, public policy forums sponsored by the ISBA, law schools and other organizations, and interviews with jurists, court correspondents and legal scholars.
Illinois Channel has pursued four objectives, since it was established last year, in addition to programming of events in all three branches.
The others are negotiating distribution of programs throughout the state; developing an interactive web site; assembling a board that reflects diversity, and seeking public and private financial support.
Plans are to generate four to six hours of new programming each week to be broadcast in at least 10 communities. Programs were available last year to about 250,000 homes on public access outlets in Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, Rockford-Freeport and Godfrey.
Other areas where negotiations have ensued are Quincy, Carbondale, Edwardsville, Belleville, Bloomington, Danville, Macomb, Decatur, Peoria, the Quad Cities, Chicago, Evanston, Elgin and Waukegan.
Among judicial events covered last year were the memorial service for Justices Michael A. Bilandic and William G. Clark, and Supreme Court arguments in cases on legislative redistricting and on whether public officials can be sued by private individuals.
"Illinois Channel, by its very nature, is an obvious mechanism that will educate and inform the public as to the operations of our state government, specifically the judicial branch," Troemper told the IBF board in recommending the grant.
Executive director Terrence J. Martin, who has headed the Illinois Channel project since January 2000, was Capitol Bureau chief for WAND-TV from 1997 to 1999. Before that, he was Senate coverage producer for C-SPAN in Washington, D.C.
For more information, contact Martin at (217) 206-6382 or martin-terry@uis.edu, or access the web site, www.illinoischannel.org.
Grant helps ex-prisoners gain education
About two dozen extraordinary students will receive high school diplomas this year, and new leases on life, thanks to a $2,500 grant from the Illinois Bar Foundation to St. Leonard's Ministries on Chicago's near west side.
Enrolled in St. Leonard's adult high school, they are men and women recently released from prison. For four nights a week, they study mathematics, history, science and English for three months with volunteer teachers from Northeastern and DePaul Universities.
"St. Leonard's adult high school is a unique opportunity for the Bar Foundation to make a difference, helping men and women exiting Illinois prisons with no resources to begin rebuilding their lives," said board member Naomi H. Schuster, who investigated the grant application.
In existence for a half-century as a transition center for about 250 men and 50 women each year, St. Leonard's started the high school program in the fall of 2001. The first class of 12 graduated that December.
Strict standards are maintained, and students who do not accomplish specific objectives do not receive diplomas, which are provided by Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette.
Two living facilities, St. Leonard's House for men and Grace House for women, offer residential settings and comprehensive case management services that result in a significantly lower rate of recidivism.
Residents range in age from 21 to 71, are 85 percent male, 60 percent black and 20 percent Hispanic. Most have substance abuse histories, 50 percent are mental health concerns, and 40 percent have physical problems
The IBF grant supports the services of a coordinator for the educational program, which is pivotal in helping participants become independent through suitable employment self-confidence.
For more information, contact St. Leonard's executive director Robert J. Dougherty at (312) 738-1414 or slhouse@ix.netcom.com.
ABZs of vehicle cases aired in Tort Law seminar
An ISBA Tort Law Section seminar on "Motor Vehicle Cases from A to Z" will wrap up the spring Law Ed Series on Thursday, May 22, in the Chicago Regional Office.
Program coordinators are section council chair Frank A. Perrecone of Ferolie, Perrecone & White, Rockford, a member of the ISBA Assembly, and council member Timothy W. Kelly of Bloomington.
From 9:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., presenters will discuss a variety of subjects in 15-minute increments. The schedule of topics and speakers follows.
9:15 a.m. Evaluating Your Claim, with section council vice chair Martin A. Dolan of Dolan & Shannon, Chicago.
9:30 a.m. How Defense Lawyers Evaluate Claims, with James F. Best of Best, Vanderlaan & Harrington, Chicago.
9:45 a.m. Insurance Coverage Issues (UM, UIM, Med Pay, Excess, Stacking), with James T. Newman of Cooney & Conway, Chicago.
10 a.m. Discovery of Psychiatric and Psychological Records, with Lorna E. Propes of Propes & Kaveny, Chicago.
10:15 a.m. Prefiling Settlement, with Robert T. Varney of Bloomington.
10:30 a.m. Court Annexed Mandatory Arbitration, with Mark A. Brown of Lane & Lane, Chicago.
10:45 a.m. Mediation, with H. Case Ellis of Crystal Lake, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors.
11 a.m. Commercial Vehicles: State and Federal Regulatory Violations, with ISBA Assembly member Steven B. Levy of Naperville.
11:15 a.m. Preparing a Complaint: Vehicle Code Violations, with section council member Karen M. Enright of Winters, Enright, Salzetta & O'Brien, Chicago.
11:30 a.m. Presenting Liability Evidence, with ISBA Assembly member John L. Nisivaco of Lavin & Nisivaco, Chicago, Tort Law Section newsletter editor.
11:45 a.m. Use of Police Reports, Diagrams, Tickets and Convictions, with section council member Darcy L. Proctor of Ancel, Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Rolek, Chicago.
12 noon Luncheon break.
1:15 p.m. Presenting Damage Evidence, with Timothy Kelly.
1:30 p.m. Defending Damage Evidence, with Charles E. Timmerwilke of O'Hagan, Smith & Amundsen, Rockford.