Vincent Cornelius elected ISBA 3rd Vice President

Durkin, Enright, Gamrath, Sosin, Duignan and Rochford win contested Board races

Vincent F. Cornelius has been elected third vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association. He will serve one year in each of three vice presidential offices and then become president of the statewide organization in 2016. Cornelius is the principal of The Law Offices of Vincent F. Cornelius, with offices in Wheaton and Joliet, where he concentrates in civil and criminal litigation.

Cornelius, who will become the ISBA’s first African-American president, was appointed in June 2011 as an At-large member of the ISBA Board of Governors. The at large position was established to provide leadership opportunities under-represented segments of the association and its governance. He was first elected to the Board of Governors in 1999 as a downstate Under Age 37 member.

Cornelius was an associate with the law firm of James D. Montgomery and Associates, the predecessor firm of Cochran and Montgomery in Chicago, where he practiced in the areas of civil and criminal litigation. He is also a former DuPage County Assistant State’s Attorney. Vince was president of the Illinois Bar Foundation from 2008-2010, he has served as a member of the Governor’s Commission on Criminal Law Reform, and as Chancellor of the ISBA’s Academy of Illinois Lawyers.

Cornelius received his law degree in 1989 from Northern Illinois University College of Law, in DeKalb, and his B.B.A. in 1986 from the University of St. Francis, in Joliet, where he was an Academic All American.

Chicago attorneys Al Durkin, Karen McNulty Enright and Hon. Celia Gamrath and Orland Park attorney David Sosin were elected from a field of nine to three-year terms on the ISBA Board of Governors. Hon. Elizabeth M. Rochford of Lake Forest was elected to the Board from Area 2 (Circuits 17, 19 and 22). ). Bridget Duignan won a contested election for the Cook County under-37 seat. Winners of uncontested Board seats include Keith E. Fruehling of Urbana (Area 5); Carey C. Gill of Carbondale (Area 7) and Angelica Wawrzynek of Mattoon (Under 37 outside Cook).