apply for membership was Alta M. Hulett of rural Rockford, also the first woman admitted to the Illinois bar.
Winnebago County Women
The Winnebago County Women's Bar Association meets for lunch on the second Tuesday of each month at the Paragon Restaurant, Rockford.
Eugene Wachowski served in judiciary until age 91
Retired Cook County judge Eugene L. Wachowski, who served on the bench until he was 91, died Dec. 17 in his Chicago apartment at age 98.
A 1930 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, Mr. Wachowski was an assistant Cook County state's attorney and assistant Chicago corporation counsel before his election to the Municipal Court in 1954.
After judicial reform, Judge Wachowski served on both the Joint ISBA-CBA Committee on Implementation of the Judicial Amendment and the Supreme Court Cook County Judicial Organization Committee in 1963-64.
He became the second presiding judge of Cook County's 1st Municipal District after the death of Augustine J. Bowe in 1965, and he served until 1976 when he reached age 75.
The Supreme Court recalled Judge Wachowski to the bench every six months until he officially retired on May 28, 1993. Often assigned to adoption court, he ruled in favor of the adoptive parents in the "Baby Richard" case, later overturned by the Supreme Court.
As vice president of the Cook County Circuit Court Judges Association, Judge Wachowski was instrumental in the establishment of the Illinois Judges Association during a January 1971 meeting in his chambers.
At the first meeting of the IJA on Dec. 2, 1971, Judge Wachowski was elected its charter president. He received the association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992, and was co-author in 1996 of the 25th anniversary publication, "Passing the Gavel: A History of the Illinois Judges Association."
Judge Wachowski was president of the Advocates Society in 1961, and he received the organization's third Award of Merit in 1984. He was the brother of Casimir R. Wachowski.
Bruce Abrams
Chicago attorney and real estate developer Bruce C. Abrams died Dec. 12 at age 38 after a fall from the 18th floor of a downtown condominium building. Police investigators called the death an apparent suicide.
A 1986 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, Mr. Abrams practiced in the real estate division of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom until he began buying and renovating residential buildings.
He was president of LR Development Co. and the founder and board chair of Prism Mortgage Co. He was honored in 1993 by the Chicago Association of Realtors for his work on restoration of historic buildings.
Louis Baskin
Chicago attorney Louis Baskin died Dec. 17 at age 91 in a Chicago hospital of congestive heart failure. He was a partner in Baskin & Baskin with two brothers, Isadore Baskin and the late Jacob Baskin.
After finishing high school at age 15, Louis Baskin became a court reporter and was employed by the Chicago Board of Education as a clerk to a high school principal. He took college courses to qualify for classes at The John Marshall Law School and received his law degree in 1935.
Mr. Baskin practiced part-time for 10 years before joining the family law partnership in 1945. He was a Cook County arbitrator for the past 11 years.
The organizer of an annual basketball tournament at the International Amphitheatre for Jewish and Catholic college stars and an interfaith track and field meet, Mr. Baskin was president of the Samuel E. Lipschultz Foundation, which provided sports equipment to underprivileged children.
Byron Bronston
Former Chicago attorney Byron E. Bronston Jr. died Nov. 22 at age 61 in his Wausau, Wis., home. A 1963 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, he was with McDermott, Will & Emery from 1970 to 1973.
An assistant law professor at Indiana University from 1967 to 1969 and from 1972 to 1993, Mr. Bronston practiced with the Ruder Law Firm in Wausau and was Citizen of the Year in 1996.
He was the son of Byron E. Bronston, a former partner in Schiff, Hardin & Waite, Chicago.
James Collins
Kankakee attorney James P. Collins died Nov. 17 at age 67 in his home. A 1963 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, he was a reporter for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin while earning his law degree.
A past president of the Kankakee County Bar Association and the Bishop McNamara High School Parents Club, Mr. Collins served on the Joliet Diocesan Council of Administration and the School Planning Committee.
A former partner in Butz, Jaffe, Collins, O'Connor, Cunnington & Burnett, Mr. Collins served in the Army from 1953 to 1955 and was employed by Triangle Construction before becoming a lawyer.
George Coutrakon
Retired Springfield attorney and Sangamon County judge George P. Coutrakon died Dec. 12 at age 93 in Redlands, Calif., where he lived with a son. A 1931 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, he served in the Navy during World War II.
Mr. Coutrakon was elected Sangamon County state's attorney in 1948 and served for eight years. In 1956, he was elected to the first of four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives.
Elected to the 7th Circuit Court in 1964, Mr. Coutrakon retired in 1979. He was the brother of Judge Basil H. Coutrakon of U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois.
Thomas Cronin
Chicago attorney Thomas G. Cronin died Dec. 13 at age 79 of cancer in his Oak Brook home. He was a partner in Cronin & Peters, where his daughter, Patricia Cronin Cook, and a nephew, John J. Cronin, are associates.
A veteran of Marine Corps service during World War II on Okinawa and Iwo Jima in the Pacific Theater, Mr. Cronin graduated in 1951 from the Loyola University School of Law. He was an assistant attorney general from 1953 to 1956 before he founded the law firm.
Mr. Cronin was past president of the Celtic Legal Society and Butterfield Country Club.
Solomon Hirsh
Retired Chicago attorney Solomon I. Hirsh died Dec. 5 at age 67 of leukemia in his Evanston home. A 1955 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, he served with the Army in Japan.
Mr. Hirsh handled appeals for the National Labor Relations Board until 1969, when he became general counsel for the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks, now the Transportation Communications International Union. He was in private practice for the past 20 years.
Active in Evanston civic groups, Mr. Hirsh served on the board of Housing Options for the Mentally Ill and the city Landmarks Presevration Commission.
Harry Johnson
Retired Chicago attorney Harry George Johnson died Dec. 14 at age 91 in as Hoffman Estates medical center. A 1939 graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, he retired from solo practice at age 85. Mr. Johnson was past president of Elmhurst Country Club.
Allan Lasky
Retired Chicago attorney Allan N. Lasky died in December at age 69. A 1957 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, he was of counsel to Beigel, Schy, Lasky, Rifkind, Fertik & Gelber in Chicago until 1996, when he retired to Greenville, S.C.
Mr. Lasky was vice president, secretary and general counsel of Xcor International Inc. until 1982, and practiced briefly with Lasky, Shulman & Golden. He became of counsel to Siegan, Barbakoff, Gomberg & Gordon in 1986.
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