Hon. Michael A. Orenic, 85, passed away at his Joliet home last Friday. Orenic was an ISBA Laureate Award Winner in 2006. The Laureate Award, the supreme honor bestowed by the Academy of Illinois Lawyers, is awarded to those deemed to exemplify the highest ideals of the profession. A graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, he was an Army Air Corps officer during World War II. Elected to the bench in 1964, Orenic was presiding judge in Will County for 16 years while the circuit included Kankakee and Iroquois Counties. He served as chief judge from 1977 to 1982 and from 1986 to 1988, and he retired in 1990 to spend more time with his nine children and ailing wife, who died in 1996.

Even before he retired in 1990, Orenic was "legendary" in the Will County courts, said Joliet attorney George Mahoney III, who had nominated Orenic for the laureate honors. "He was a fascinating guy -- a brilliant guy," Mahoney said. "He was a big guy with flowing white hair. He had this physical aura about him. He looked like a judge."

The 2006 Laureate Award Winners Obituary: Will County loses a "brilliant" judge