ISBA election

James F. McCluskey of Lisle won the race for third vice-president of the Illinois State Bar Association, and Jessica A. O’Brien of Chicago, Kent A. Gaertner of Wheaton, Rory T. Weiler of St. Charles, and Dennis J. Orsey of Granite City won contested races for seats on the ISBA Board of Governors. Sonni Choi Williams of Peoria and Charles Davis of Springfield won uncontested Board seats.

Here is the full Tellers report for the 2015 ISBA election:

CONTESTED RACES (winners in bold)

For Third Vice-President – 1 to be elected

• James F. McCluskey, Lisle      2,366        
• Lisa M. Nyuli, South Elgin      1,444

For Board of Governors – Cook County – 1 to be elected

• John W. Damisch, Chicago     643
• Jessica A. O’Brien, Chicago    838

For Board of Governors – Area 1 (Circuit 18) – 1 to be elected

• Kent A. Gaertner, Wheaton                        176
• Sharon R. Mulyk, Glen Ellyn                       103
• Keith E. (Chuck) Roberts, Jr., Wheaton      160
• Michael J. Scalzo, Wheaton                           70

For Board of Governors – Area 3 (Circuits 12, 13 16, 21 and 23) – 1 to be elected

• Jean A. Kenol, Joliet              153
• Rory T. Weiler, St. Charles    242

For Board of Governors – Area 8 (Circuits 3 and 20) – 1 to be elected

• Dennis J. Orsey, Granite City    179
• Tom Speedie, Nashville             117
• Kristi Vetri, Belleville                  49

Have you received your ISBA ballot?  

If not, please contact VRES at (800) 218-4026 or custserv@vres.us.

ISBA's election provider VR Election Services (VRES) emailed e-ballots to members with valid email addresses and mailed paper ballots to members without valid email addresses on Thursday, March 26, 2015. Candidate biographies can be found in the March Illinois Bar Journal.

Due to the Chicago Office being closed today, the deadline to submit peititions for the ISBA Election has been extended until 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Petitions can also be overnighted to the Illinois Bar Center, 424 S. Second Street, Springfield, IL 62701-1779 and will be accepted as long as they are dated Feb. 2. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Election materials are available at www.isba.org/elections.

Election also determines 5 Board seats

Hon. Russell W. Hartigan, of Western Springs, a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, has been elected third vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association. He will serve a one-year term in each of the three vice presidential offices and become president of the 32,000-member organization in June 2017.

Judge Hartigan, who will be the first sitting judge in at least 40 years to become ISBA president, previously served 12 years on the ISBA Board of Governors and held positions of board secretary and treasurer. An ISBA member since 1976, he served on its 203-member Assembly for nine years and has been active on numerous committees. He is active on the ISBA Civil Practice Committee where he speaks on and writes about topics in civil law. A Fellow and board member for 10 years of the Illinois Bar Foundation, he is a member of its Lawyers Care Fund.  

Appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court in October 2010, Judge Hartigan was elected to a six-year term in March 2012 and currently serves in the Fifth Municipal District in Bridgeview. He was a founding partner in the Chicago law firm of Hartigan & O’Connor, P.C., which concentrates in civil litigation, municipal, personal injury and real estate. He is an elected member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, which requires a minimum of 30 trials for acceptance.