It was during a visit to a hometown library in the segregated South that a young Chester Blair had one of his earliest encounters with racism.

Pulled aside by a disapproving librarian after going through the checkout line, the Texas native was told not to return to that library — one serving mostly whites — and to bring his book back to the library closer to where he lived in a black section of town.

"He was just a boy, but he knew that wasn't right," said his wife of 46 years, Judith. "He knew you don't treat people like that."

Years later, after moving to Chicago and attending college, Mr. Blair taught in Chicago Public Schools before earning a law degree and building a law practice.

"He was the kind of person that kept pushing his life forward, and by doing so, he advanced the lives of so many others," his wife said.

Mr. Blair, 86, the first elected African-American president of the Chicago Bar Association, died Monday, March 16, at a special care facility in Cincinnati, of complications related to Alzheimer's disease. Formerly a longtime resident of Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, he and his wife had moved to Cincinnati two years ago to be closer to family members.

Read the full obituary in the Chicago Tribune.

Join ISBA members for a group admission to the Supreme Court of the United States on Monday, June 8, 2015 in Washington D.C.

Sign up by Friday, Feb. 27 for the ISBA's biennial trip to the U.S. Supreme Court! A special group hotel room rate is available at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel for the admittee, family and guests.

To be eligible, you must be an active lawyer member of the ISBA, admitted to practice more than 3 years, and not have any adverse disciplinary action pronounced or in effect during that 3-year period.

The 2015 Annual Meeting will be held at the Grand Geneva in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin from June 18th – 20th. Take advantage of this opportunity to make your reservations for lodging early. To make reservations at the Grand Geneva, please call 855.833.5345 and reference reservation code #75O0D6 or indicate you are attending the Illinois State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting. Rates for 2015 are $177 for single or double occupancy, plus resort fee and tax. A deposit of first night’s lodging is required. Check-in after 4:00 p.m. and check-out before 12:00 p.m.

James C. Craven, 89, of Bellingham, Washington, died early Monday morning, January 12, 2015, in Seattle, Washington, following complications from surgery.

Jim was born August 7, 1925, in Greenfield Tennessee, the son of Arlie and Addie Craven.  The family moved to Chicago in the 1930’s, and Jim graduated from Lakeview High School. He graduated from the University of Illinois, and the University of Illinois Law School, after serving in the Army during and after WWII.

Jim married Gloria Pheney in November 1951, and they started a family in Springfield, Illinois.  Jim and Gloria moved to Ashland, Oregon in 1999, and then to Bellingham, Washington in 2010. He is survived by his wife Gloria at home in Bellingham, along with their four children, William (Terri Tork) of Sacramento CA; Nancy (Jim Claypool) of Portland OR; Don (Denise) of Springfield IL; and Rebecca (Scott Linneman) of Bellingham WA, as well as grandchildren Joseph and David Craven, Anna and Meg Claypool and Charles and Dorothy Linneman.