Illinois Judges Foundation and Illinois Bar Foundation to Honor 3 with Legal Luminary Award
The Illinois Judges Foundation and the Illinois Bar Foundation will honor retired Justice Philip J. Rarick, Hon. Carole K. Bellows, and attorney Harvey B. Stephens for their exemplary careers and dedication to advancing the legal profession on Tuesday, May 15, at the Legal Luminary Reception at the Illinois State Library in Springfield, Ill.
Justice Philip Rarick, Ret., of counsel at Callis Papa & Szewczyk, P.C. in Granite City, was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court in 2002 and served until his retirement in 2004. Throughout his career, Rarick served as City Attorney for the City of Collinsville, Township Attorney for Collinsville and Jarvis Townships, Assistant State’s Attorney in Madison County, Chief Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division in Madison County, and on the Fifth District Appellate Court. Rarick is a former Board of Director of the Illinois Judges Association, former member of the Illinois Courts Commission, and former member of numerous other Judicial Conference committees.
Hon. Carole K. Bellows, of the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago, made history as the first woman elected to serve as the Illinois State Bar Association’s president (1977-78) as well as the first woman president of a state bar association in the United States. Bellows was also the first female member of the ISBA Board of Governors (1969-79), first female state delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates (1978-88), and first woman to become chairperson of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation. Judge Bellows has received numerous awards and honors throughout the years including the Illinois Judges Association’s Distinguished Service Award. She is a member of the ISBA’s 1960 Class of Distinguished Lawyers, a 57 year ISBA member, as well as a Bronze and Charter Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation.
Harvey B. Stephens, senior counsel at Brown Hay + Stephens in Springfield, has been a member of Illinois’ longest standing law firm since 1960, following his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. Stephens concentrates his practice in banking and financial institutions, business law, and estate planning, probate, and trust. A member of the ISBA’s 1960 Class of Distinguished Lawyers, Stephens is also a 57 year ISBA member. Recently, Stephens and his wife, Judy, received the first Stephens Philanthropy Award from the Community Foundation for Land of Lincoln for their extraordinary commitment to philanthropy and pro bono work.
Proceeds from this event will benefit the educational, scholarship, legal aid, and lawyer assistance programs funded by the Illinois Judges Foundation and the Illinois Bar Foundation.
Tickets are $50 per person and include an optional tour of the Supreme Court building. To purchase tickets or sponsorships visit www.illinoisbarfoundation.org/legal-luminary-reception.
The Illinois Bar Foundation is located at 20 S. Clark St., Suite 910, Chicago, IL 60603. Call (312) 726-6072 or visit www.illinoisbarfoundation.org.