Chicago Area

April 29, 2010 | People

Louis Cainkar 1911-2010

Longtime municipal attorney Louis Cainkar, 98, passed away on April 20 at his Evergreen Park home. Mr. Cainkar was considered the pre-eminent municipal attorney in the southwest suburbs for decades. His timing for going into municipal law was propitious, as the Chicago area was in the midst of its postwar boom and suburban cities and villages were blossoming throughout the region. Over the years, his firm's clients included suburbs from Alsip to Summit in addition to many municipal units such as park and library districts. He was a hands-on attorney who sat through many long, tedious sessions of city councils and village boards. Read Mr. Cainkar's full obituary in the Chicago Tribune.
April 28, 2010

Breaking legal news for Wednesday, April 28
Chicago area
- Des Plaines lawyer charged over bad checks, Daily Herald
- Murder suspect can't act as own attorney in retrial, Chicago Sun-Times
- 100 years old and facing foreclosure, Chicago Tribune
- Judge: Indiana doctor accused of fraud competent for trial, Chicago Tribune
Southern Illinois
- Judge O'Malley to retire July 31, Belleville News-Democrat
Nation
- McDonald's Happy Meals on wrong end of the law in California county, Crain's Chicago Business
SCOTUS
- Stevens hears last argument as justice, St.
April 28, 2010 | People

Burton Joseph 1930-2010

Noted civil liberties attorney Burton Joseph, 79, of Evanston, passed away late last month in San Francisco. Mr. Joseph was a partner in the Chicago law firm of Joseph, Lichtenstein & Levinson. He defended activists arrested at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, acted as executive director of the Playboy Foundation and was a founding member of Lawyers for the Creative Arts. In his most celebrated case, in the late 1970s, he successfully persuaded the American Civil Liberties Union to back the National Socialist Party of America --a Nazi group -- in its efforts to be allowed to march through heavily Jewish Skokie. As the son of Jewish cemetery owners on Chicago's West Side, Mr. Joseph's stand cost him some friends, but "though he violently disagreed with what the Nazis said, he strongly believed in their right to say it," his daughter Jody said. The Nazis were eventually allowed to march but decided to do so in Chicago instead. The battle was later dramatized in the TV movie, "Skokie," and inspired scenes in "The Blues Brothers." Obituaries for Mr. Joseph: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Times
April 28, 2010 | People

IBF President Vincent Cornelius wins NIU College of Law's Outstanding Alumni Award

[caption id="attachment_10672" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Vincent Cornelius"][/caption] Vincent F. Cornelius, J.D. ‘89, Attorney at Law and Principal in the law offices of Vincent F. Cornelius, has been named a recipient Northern Illinois University Alumni Association’s Outstanding Alumni Award for the College of Law. Every year the Northern Illinois University Alumni Association recognizes the achievements of outstanding alumni through the Distinguished Alumni Award, the F.R. Geigle Service Award, the Outstanding Young Alumni Award, and the Outstanding Alumni Award for each of the seven academic colleges at NIU. Recipients are selected based on outstanding professional and ersonal successes, as well as involvement in civic, cultural, or charitable activities. “NIU alumni have gone on to distinguish themselves and Northern in countless ways,” explains Jack Tierney, President of the NIU Alumni Association. “This award program seeks to recognize some of those outstanding individuals who have gone out and achieved great success in their personal and professional lives.” This year the Outstanding Alumni Award for the College of Health and Human Sciences will be presented to Vincent F. Cornelius, J.D. ‘89, a highly respected sole practitioner. Cornelius has established the Law Office of Vincent F.
April 27, 2010

Breaking legal news for Tuesday, April 27
Central Illinois
- Peoria County State's Attorney Lyons says office will handle smoking ban violations, Peoria Journal Star
Chicago area
- Doctor sues Chicago hospital after being attacked, Chicago Sun-Times
April 27, 2010 | Events

Mikva to receive Union League Club of Chicago Distinguished Public Service Award

Retired U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Abner J. Mikva will be honored on Thursday, April 29, with the Union League Club of Chicago's Distinguished Public Service Award. A reception will begin at 11:30 a.m. followed by a luncheon at noon. The Union League Club is located at 65 W. Jackson, Chicago. Judge Mikva, a Hyde Park resident who has devoted much of his legal career to fostering civil rights to reduce prejudice in housing, employment and education, will be cited for his decades of exceptional commitment to community and country and scores of significant civic contributions, including service in all branches of government -- as an Illinois state legislator, a U.S. Congressman, legal advisor to a U.S. president and chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia circuit. Currently the senior director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, Judge Mikva and his wife, Zoe, co-founded the Mikva Challenge, a non-partisan civic leadership program that encourages more than 5,000 Chicago youth to serve as election judges, volunteer for political campaigns, and create local activism projects to improve their schools and communities. According to Union League Club vice president, attorney Robert Karton, “this is a singular honor conferred on individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to civic or public service.” Judge Mikva joins a roster of previous Union League Club Distinguished Public Service awardees: entertainer Danny Thomas; Msgr. Ignatius McDermott, founder of Haymarket Center, a Chicago rehab institute; U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois judges Abraham Lincoln Marovitz and George N.
April 27, 2010 | Practice News

"Media Coverage of the Courts" to air on Judicial Perspective

[caption id="attachment_10741" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Michael B. Hyman, Ameet Sachdev, Larry Yellen, Robert J. Anderson"][/caption] Media Coverage of the Courts will be the topic of Judicial Perspective, a half-hour cable program presented by the Illinois Judges Association (IJA), airing on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago, on Tuesdays, May 4 and May 18 at 10:30 p.m. Appearing on the show are program moderator Michael B. Hyman, a Cook County Circuit Court judge and IJA officer; Ameet Sachdev, a legal reporter for the Chicago Tribune; Larry Yellen, investigative reporter for Fox Chicago News; and Robert J. Anderson, a judge in the 18th Judicial Circuit. The Illinois Judges Association, formed in 1971, provides continuing legal support to members of the judiciary and education to the public on matters regarding the court system.
April 26, 2010

Breaking legal news for Monday, April 26
Central Illinois
- Judge removes himself from hearings involving Snow case, Bloomington Pantagraph
Chicago area
- Naperville man picks up bucket of charges in one busy night, Daily Herald
- Will County Sheriff's clerk suspended after drug arrest, Chicago Sun-Times
- Murder suspect's defense given more county funds for investigation, Daily Herald
- Too little, too late for Elgin lawyer, Daily Herald
- Elgin man's trial delayed on murder solicitation charge, Daily Herald
SCOTUS
- Supreme Court steers clear of Asian carp dispute, Chicago Tribune
- Supreme Court free speech challenge to ban on violent video games, ABA Journal
Nation
- DOJ adds 15 prosecutor jobs to its computer hacking team, ABA Journal
April 23, 2010 | Events

IBF to host reception honoring ISBA President John O'Brien

[caption id="attachment_10551" align="alignright" width="175" caption="ISBA President John O'Brien"][/caption] The Illinois Bar Foundation will host a reception honoring Illinois State Bar Association President John O'Brien on Thursday, May 6, at the Metropolis Ballroom, 6 S. Vail Avenue, Arlington Heights. Please RSVP by April 30th to ldriscoll@isba.org or (312) 726-6072. Registration form
April 23, 2010

Breaking legal news for Friday, April 23
State
- House OKs crackdown on excessive speeding, Chicago Tribune
- Durbin says Blagojevich's lawyers have subpoenaed him, Chicago Tribune
- Computer glitch "unseals" parts of Blagojevich motion, Daily Herald
Chicago area
- Elgin man faces new charge for threatening judge, Daily Herald
Southern Illinois
- Ex-alderman gets probation in embezzlement case, The Southern
Nation
- SEC lawyer watched 8 hours of porn a day amid financial crisis, ABA Journal
This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.