The Illinois State Bar Association will be recognizing members who have been admitted to practice for 50 years at a luncheon on Wednesday, Dec. 12. We are pleased to invite you to join President John E. Thies as the Association recognizes the 2012 Class of Distinguished Counsellors.The luncheon to recognize the 2012 Class of Distinguished Counsellors will be held at Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. There will be a reception at 11:15 a.m. and lunch at noon. Tickets are available at $75 per person and advanced registration is required. To purchase tickets, please complete and return the attached registration form.If you have any questions, please contact Kim Weaver by e-mail at kweaver@isba.org or by telephone at (800) 252-8908.Congratulations to the 1962 Class of Distinguished Counsellors:

ISBA President John E. Thies wrote a letter to the editor in response to the recent Chicago Sun-Times editorial on judicial reform. President Thies' letter is below.Editorial PageChicago Sun-TimesTo the Editor:The Sun-Times editorial "Time to give the boot to bad judges" is right on the mark. On November 6th, Cook County voters made no distinction between the vast majority of judges who deserved to be retained and the few who should not be entrusted with deciding issues of life, liberty, and the rights of their fellow citizens.Illinois has 40-plus years of experience with the current system of selecting judges - partisan elections and non-partisan retentions - and the flaws of this system are more apparent with each passing election.The Illinois State Bar Association favors an appointment system in which judges would be selected with the benefit of nonpartisan commissions composed of lawyers and nonlawyers. We believe such a system would bolster an independent, qualified judiciary. But changing the selection process requires an amendment to the Illinois Constitution. We know how difficult this is, after many years of trying.This leaves us to pursue other measures that can improve the system we have. One of these is tighter rules outlining when a judge should disqualify him or herself due to campaign support that creates a probability of bias. Public confidence in the justice system demands this kind of common sense rule, and the Illinois State Bar Association will be voting next month to approve such a proposal.

John B. Simon will be sworn-in as a Justice for the 1st District Appellate Court on Friday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. This event will be held at the James R. Thompson Center Auditorium, Concourse Level, 100 W. Randolph. It will feature open seating and early arrival is suggested.Mr. Simon fills the vacancy created by the death of Appellate Justice Michael J. Murphy who passed away Oct. 1. The appointment will terminate December 1, 2014 when the position will be filled by the November 2014 General Election.

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity recently conducted its Fall 2012 District XI Initiation. The group welcomed nearly 300 new members in a ceremony presided over by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke in the auditorium at the James R. Thompson Center. The initiates pledged to advance the fraternity's core values of integrity, courage, compassion, professionalism and diversity through service to the student, the school, the profession and the community. Among the new members were Hon. Anita Alvarez, Cook County State's Attorney, and Gregory Mark, Dean of DePaul University College of Law.