Retired U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Abner J. Mikva will be honored on Thursday, April 29, with the Union League Club of Chicago's Distinguished Public Service Award. A reception will begin at 11:30 a.m. followed by a luncheon at noon. The Union League Club is located at 65 W. Jackson, Chicago. Judge Mikva, a Hyde Park resident who has devoted much of his legal career to fostering civil rights to reduce prejudice in housing, employment and education, will be cited for his decades of exceptional commitment to community and country and scores of significant civic contributions, including service in all branches of government -- as an Illinois state legislator, a U.S. Congressman, legal advisor to a U.S. president and chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia circuit. Currently the senior director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, Judge Mikva and his wife, Zoe, co-founded the Mikva Challenge, a non-partisan civic leadership program that encourages more than 5,000 Chicago youth  to serve as election judges, volunteer for political campaigns,  and create local activism projects to improve  their schools and communities. According to Union League Club vice president, attorney Robert Karton, “this is a singular honor conferred on individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to civic or public service.” Judge Mikva joins a roster of previous Union League Club Distinguished Public Service awardees: entertainer Danny Thomas; Msgr. Ignatius McDermott, founder of Haymarket Center, a Chicago rehab institute; U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois judges Abraham Lincoln Marovitz and George N.

[caption id="attachment_10551" align="alignright" width="175" caption="ISBA President John O'Brien"][/caption] The Illinois Bar Foundation will host a reception honoring Illinois State Bar Association President John O'Brien on Thursday, May 6, at the Metropolis Ballroom, 6 S. Vail Avenue, Arlington Heights. Please RSVP by April 30th to ldriscoll@isba.org or (312) 726-6072. Registration form

[caption id="attachment_10201" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Annemarie Kill, Chair of the Standing Committee of Women and the Law, Sonni Williams, Chair of Racial and Ethnic Minorities and the Law, NIU Law Dean Jennifer Rosato and event presenter and newly-elected ISBA 3rd Vice President Paula Holderman"][/caption] The ISBA Standing Committees on Women and the Law and Ethnic and Racial Minorities and the Law co-sponsored "Seek Power! A Law Student's Guide to Authentic Self Promotion" on April 9 at Northern Illinois University College of Law. Newly-elected 3rd Vice President Paula Holderman presented and Justice Susan F. Hutchinson offered words of wisdom to students preparing their career path. The event was followed by a networking reception at the College's Thurgood Marshall Gallery. Click here to view a photo gallery from this event.

[caption id="attachment_9951" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Past ISBA President Hon. Carole K. Bellows (left) and Hon. Rhoda Davis Sweeney (right) congratulate Justice McMorrow."][/caption] The Chicago Alumni Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International, recently had its Annual St. PADdy's Day Luncheon. During this event, the Chapter renamed its "Outstanding Service to the Legal Profession Award" in honor of Justice Mary Ann G. McMorrow (Ret.), and presented her with the inaugural award. Justice McMorrow was the first woman elected to the Illinois Supreme Court, the first female Chief Justice of that tribunal, and the first woman to head any branch of Illinois state government. Click here to view a photo gallery from this event.