Ratings of all candidates for judicial office in Illinois in the November 2 election are available on the ISBA web site – www.isba.org/judicialevaluations.
“The Illinois Constitution gives voters an important responsibility in deciding who should serve in the office of judge,” said Mark D. Hassakis of Mt. Vernon, president of the ISBA. “Judges make decisions affecting the rights and responsibilities of all citizens, and it’s crucial that qualified individuals serve in these positions.”
Candidates for election to judicial vacancies and sitting judges seeking retention in office were rated by two methods. All candidates in Cook County and candidates for the Supreme and Appellate courts statewide were reviewed in a comprehensive evaluation process. All judicial candidates outside of Cook County were rated in a poll of lawyers conducted by ISBA.
The comprehensive evaluation process involves a detailed background investigation by members of the ISBA Judicial Evaluations Committee, followed by an in-person interview of the candidate. The Committee then decides whether to recommend the candidate for the judicial office being sought.
“Our members volunteer countless hours away from their busy law practices to complete these evaluations, which represent the opinion of the Illinois State Bar Association,” said Hassakis. “Other lawyers are given the opportunity in the judicial advisory poll to express their own opinions. I urge voters to consider these ratings in choosing how to vote in judicial elections.”
The Illinois State Bar Association provides professional services to lawyers, and education and services to the public.
ISBA News
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October 13, 2010 |
ISBA News
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October 12, 2010 |
ISBA News
[caption id="attachment_15144" align="alignright" width="300" caption="This historical marker for Robert Fitzgerald sits on the current site of the ISBA office. Photo credit: Mark Skube"][/caption] Translator, poet and scholar Robert Fitzgerald was honored today with a historical marker on the property of the Illinois State Bar Association in Springfield. Fitzgerald, who would have turned 100 today, grew up in a house on the site of the current ISBA office. Fitzgerald is highly regarded for his English translations of Homer and Virgil. He was the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard University and consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress, a title eventually renamed National Poet Laureate.
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October 12, 2010 |
ISBA News
[caption id="attachment_15223" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Attendees of the 2010 Unity Dinner included (from left): Rick Felice, ISBA Board member Russell Hartigan, ISBA Past President Tim Eaton and ISBA 2nd Vice President John Thies."][/caption] ISBA Immediate Past President John O'Brien and ISBA Executive Director Robert Craghead received Outstanding Diversity Leader awards at the Unity Dinner and and 8th Annual Swearing-in of Bar Presidents on Thursday at the Palmer House Hilton. Other awardees included Winston & Strawn Chairman Dan K. Webb (Unity Award), U.S. District Court Judge Ruben Castillo (Advocate for Diversity Award) and Institute for the Inclusion in the Legal Profession CEO Sandra S. Yamate (Advocate for Diversity Award.
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October 8, 2010 |
ISBA News
ISBA President Mark Hassakis appeared on a live segment Thursday night to discuss judicial elections, judicial retention and merit selection of judges. The program aired on WTTW-Channel 11. The ISBA continued its push for merit selection of judges at the recent judicial symposium.
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October 8, 2010 |
ISBA News
The ISBA Young Lawyer's Division recently presented a check for $3,000 to Life Span of Des Plaines. On hand for the presentation were (from left): YLD Secretary Meghan O'Brien, YLD Council member Marron Mahoney, Life Span Child and Teen Counselor Ari Bernstein and Life Span attorney Sandra Blake. The ISBA YLD Children’s Assistance Fund, in concert with the Illinois Bar Foundation, seeks to provide grants to organizations across the state related to children and law. Nonprofit organizations wishing to submit proposals to the ISBA YLD Children’s Assistance Fund should review these guidelines to determine their eligibility and the application process.
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October 8, 2010 |
ISBA News | Member Services
The Illinois State Bar Association’s Lawyer Finder Service provides referrals to local lawyers Mondays through Fridays. The Service makes referrals in a number of areas of law. For the month of September, ISBA helped people in need of legal services find lawyers in the following areas:
- Administrative Law - 2
- Animal Law - 2
- Bankruptcy - 18
- Business Law - 10
- Civil Disputes - 46
- Civil Rights - 30
- Collection - 18
- Consumer Protection - 27
- Contracts - 7
- Criminal Law - 67
- Education Law -10
- Elder law - 4
- Employment Law - 88
- Estate/Probate Law -22
- Family - 122
- Government Benefits -17
- Health Law - 13
- Immigration - 4
- Insurance Disputes - 6
- Intellectual Property - 4
- Miscellaneous - 3
- Municipal Law - 12
- Personal Injury -59
- Real Estate - 54
- Social Security - 15
- Tax - 4
- Workers Compensation - 4
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October 6, 2010 |
Events | ISBA News
[caption id="attachment_15037" align="alignright" width="300" caption="ISBA 3rd Vice President Paula H. Holderman (left) and retired appellate justice Gino L. DiVito (second from left) participate in a judicial symposium on the merit selection of judges."][/caption] Forty years later, the debate continues on how Illinois should pick its judges. And yesterday’s comments from a judicial symposium are interchangeable with the comments from the delegates at the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention. Legislators, judges, and bar leaders discussed the merits of electing or appointing judges at a judicial symposium Monday co-sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association. Other sponsors included the Chicago Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association, the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel and the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. Everybody agrees with symposium panelist and House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, who said what Illinois needs is “an independent, impartial, and competent judiciary.” But there was no unanimity on how we get there. ISBA 3rd Vice President Paula H. Holderman and retired appellate court justice Gino L. DiVito served as panelists and spoke in favor of an appointive system that includes nominating commissions.
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October 5, 2010 |
ISBA News
Ratings of all candidates for judicial office in Illinois in the November 2 election are available on the ISBA web site – www.isba.org/judicialevaluations. “The Illinois Constitution gives voters an important responsibility in deciding who should serve in the office of judge,” said Mark D. Hassakis of Mt. Vernon, president of the ISBA. “Judges make decisions affecting the rights and responsibilities of all citizens, and it’s crucial that qualified individuals serve in these positions.” Candidates for election to judicial vacancies and sitting judges seeking retention in office were rated by two methods. All candidates in Cook County and candidates for the Supreme and Appellate courts statewide were reviewed in a comprehensive evaluation process. All judicial candidates outside of Cook County were rated in a poll of lawyers conducted by ISBA. The comprehensive evaluation process involves a detailed background investigation by members of the ISBA Judicial Evaluations Committee, followed by an in-person interview of the candidate. The Committee then decides whether to recommend the candidate for the judicial office being sought. “Our members volunteer countless hours away from their busy law practices to complete these evaluations, which represent the opinion of the Illinois State Bar Association,” said Hassakis. “Other lawyers are given the opportunity in the judicial advisory poll to express their own opinions. I urge voters to consider these ratings in choosing how to vote in judicial elections.” The Illinois State Bar Association provides professional services to lawyers, and education and services to the public.
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September 30, 2010 |
ISBA News
The Illinois Bar Foundation will be receiving $421,486.52 in unclaimed funds from a nationwide class-action settlement involving a rate increase on life insurance policies. Miller v. Royal Maccabees Life Insurance Company, 97 CH 04324 (Cir. Ct. Cook Cty.) - Schad, Diamond & Shedden recovered $127.6 million including $93 million in cash and $34.6 million savings on future cost of insurance charges. The plaintiff policyholders filed a class action complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County against an insurance company charging that the company breached its contract with policyholders, violated consumer fraud laws and breached its fiduciary duty to policyholders by illegally raising cost of insurance (COI) rates. The court appointed Schad, Diamond & Shedden class counsel in this action. The judge is Mary Ann Mason. There was a total of $3.9 million in remaining funds to be distributed, and 5 Illinois legal aid organizations were the recipients of half of that amount, with the rest designated for other states.
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September 28, 2010 |
ISBA News
[caption id="attachment_14877" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Appearing on “LGBT Marriage and Family Issues” will be (from left) Cook County Associate Judge Cheryl Cesario, Richard A. Wilson, Jennifer Shaw and Rachael N. Toft."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_14878" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Appearing on the “Violence Against LGBT Persons" will be (from left) Daniel A. Kirk, Cook County Associate Judge Cheryl Cesario, Jennifer Shaw and Anthony E. Rothert."][/caption] “LGBT Marriage and Family Issues” and “Violence Against LGBT Persons,” half-hour programs presented by the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), will air on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago, on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. “LGBT Marriage and Family Issues” will air on Tuesdays, October 5 and 19 at 10 p.m. Appearing on the show will be Cook County Associate Judge Cheryl Cesario, who moderates the program; Richard Wilson, of Law Offices of Richard A.
