Chicago Area

Judge Glenn T. Johnson, 93, former assistant attorney general of Illinois and the second African-American to serve on the Illinois Appellate Court, died of natural causes Tuesday, Nov. 30, in his Hyde Park home. When he was sworn to the Appellate Court bench in 1973, he became the second African-American to hold that position, following Judge George N. Leighton. Judge Timothy Evans, a former Chicago alderman who became the first African-American chief judge of Cook County Circuit Court, credits Judge Johnson with being a major influence on his political and legal career. Evans said Judge Johnson was also devoted to John Marshall Law School, where he served as a trustee, and his church, Woodlawn AME. "He was not only an icon to the African-American legal world, but he showed that same commitment to John Marshall and his service in the church," Evans said. Family visitation will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by a 10:30 a.m. service by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. There will be a service at 11 a.m. Each service will be at Woodlawn AME Church, 6456 S. Evans Ave., Chicago. Read the full obituary in the Chicago Tribune

[caption id="attachment_16302" align="alignright" width="160" caption="Ilana Bamberger Spector"][/caption] The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP announced that Ilana Bamberger Spector has joined the Firm's Chicago office as an associate in the Health Law Group. While in law school she served as law clerk at the United States Department of Treasury and as a legal intern at the American Hospital Association. Prior to law school she worked as an analyst for Lehman Brothers in New York City where she primarily focused on securitization transactions. Ms. Spector earned her law degree, cum laude, from Chicago-Kent College of Law and her undergraduate degree, with distinction, in Finance, Investment and Banking with a certificate in Health Care Management from the University of Wisconsin. Quarles & Brady LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 450 attorneys practicing from offices in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Chicago, Ill.; Naples and Tampa, Fla.; and Milwaukee and Madison, Wis. The Firm offers an array of legal services to corporate and individual clients that range from small entrepreneurial businesses to Fortune 100 companies. Additional information about the Firm may be found at www.quarles.com.

All sitting and retired members of the Illinois Supreme Court will be presented with the first annual “Harold Sullivan Award for Judicial Excellence” at the joint Midyear Meeting of the Illinois Judges Association (IJA) and Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) on Friday, December 10, at a 12 noon luncheon, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, 301 E. North Water St. Created by IJA President Lewis M. Nixon, a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, the award was named in memory of the late Judge Harold Sullivan to salute the men and women who serve or have served with distinction on the state’s highest court. Judge Sullivan, who died earlier this year, was instrumental in helping expand the IJA in size and influence. Current justices who will be honored are Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, Charles E. Freeman, Robert R. Thomas, Rita B. Garman, Lloyd A. Karmeier, Anne M. Burke and Mary Jane Theis. The retired, living justices who will receive the award are Benjamin K. Miller, James Heiple, John J. Stamos, Mary Ann G. McMorrow, Moses Harrison II, John L. Nickels, S. Louis Rathje, Thomas Fitzgerald and Phillip Rarick. Judge S. Gene Schwarm, Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, will receive the IJA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  Judge Schwarm, who has served as chairman of the Conference of Chief Judges since September 2006, is also chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Judicial Mentoring Committee and co-chair of the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council. Keynote speaker at the luncheon will be trial attorney, best-selling author, television anchor and legal analyst, Rikki Klieman, who has earned a sterling reputation as one of the nation’s most thoughtful legal authorities.

Robert J. Mangler, former village attorney for Wilmette and Evanston, passed away yesterday at the age of 80. Visitation for Mr. Mangler was scheduled from 4-9 p.m. Dec. 1 at the William H. Scott Funeral Home, 1100 Greenleaf Ave., in Wilmette. His funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 2 at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, 524 Ninth St., Wilmette. Read the full obituary in the Pioneer Press.