Robert M. Karton elected President of the Union League Club of Chicago

The Union League Club of Chicago has elected attorney Robert M. Karton, its president. A colonel in the Civil Air Patrol, the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, Karton serves as commander of the Civil Air Patrol’s Great Lakes Region. The Union League Club of Chicago is America’s number one city club, according to a recent independent survey of 6,000 club managers, presidents and directors. It owns one of the nation’s largest privately held art collections with more than 700 pieces of Midwestern and American fine art. Established in 1879 in support of the federal Union, the Club is comprised of men and women who play active roles in the public, civic, cultural and philanthropic affairs of the Chicago metropolitan area. “Traditions, customs and courtesies, collegiality, commitment to community and country, support of philanthropy, and service to our great City and State are the fabric and strength of our Club. These are the principles which have made and continue to make the Union League Club of Chicago special,” said Karton. Karton served four years as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney, criminal trial division, from 1965 through 1968 with special assignments related to civil disorder and teenage gang homicides. He entered the private practice of law in 1968 and ten years later founded Robert M. Karton, Ltd., which is engaged in the general, civil practice of law. He is admitted to practice law in Illinois and Florida; the U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. District Court (trial bar) in numerous districts; U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit. Karton is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s standing committee on Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission; and the Chicago Bar Association’s professional responsibility committee and is a member of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers. Karton, who has been active in the Civil Air Patrol for 22 years, flies search and rescue, disaster reconnaissance and counter-drug missions. He also serves as a cadet and ROTC/JROTC orientation pilot. Karton formerly served as the Civil Air Patrol’s national legal officer and corporate secretary as well as its national parliamentarian. In 1997, he instituted the National Legal Officers College, a biennial, three-day, continuing legal education in-residence seminar focused on legal issues pertaining to the Civil Air Patrol. During the past year, Karton served as the Union League Club of Chicago’s first vice president and chaired its personnel & administration committee. Previously, Karton served on the Club’s board of directors from 1996 - 1999. He was a member of the Club’s admissions committee which he chaired in 1998-99 and served on its house, reception, membership, long range planning, members activities. An active member of the Club’s public affairs committee, Karton served four years as chair of the group’s transportation subcommittee and four years as co-chair of the administration of justice subcommittee. Karton has been a trustee of the Union League Boys and Girls Clubs since 1993, serving on the finance committee since 1996. He has also been a senior advisor, general counsel and a director of the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation and is a life trustee. Karton attended the University of Illinois, Urbana, where he majored in psychology, history and political science, and earned a Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University School of Law. A member of the Loop Synagogue in Chicago, Karton is a life-long resident of the city. He and his wife, Lee, reside on the Gold Coast. Karton has a daughter, two sons, two step-daughters and eight grandchildren.