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  • July 16, 2009 | ISBA News
    IBF awards $20,000 grant to Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation in East St. Louis
    [caption id="attachment_2393" align="alignright" width="300" caption="IBF Grants Committee Member Judge James Wexstten of Mt. Vernon presents a $20,000 grant to Linda Zazove, Deputy Director, and Christopher Dain, Director of Development, of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation. "][/caption] The Illinois Bar Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to announce a $20,000 grant to Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation in East St. Louis, one of 32 grants awarded this year totaling $304,965. Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation provides free civil legal assistance to low-income persons and senior citizens in 65 counties in central and southern Illinois through five regional offices and a centralized Legal Advice and Referral Center. The $20,000 grant was made to support the new Education Advocacy Project, a collaboration of Land of Lincoln's East St. Louis Office and the Griffin Center. The purpose of the project is to advocate for the educational rights of children in District 189 (East St. Louis) and to support and empower parents and teachers in their efforts to provide children with a quality education and strong academic foundation. Five hundred elementary age children, who participate in after school programs with Griffin Center, are represented by the program.
  • July 14, 2009 | ISBA News
    IBF awards grant to Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services
    [caption id="attachment_2169" align="alignright" width="300" caption="IBF Grants Committee Member Judge Nancy Katz of Chicago presents a $10,000 grant to Kendra Reinshagen, Executive Director of Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago. "][/caption] The Illinois Bar Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to announce a $10,000 grant to Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago, one of 32 grants awarded in 2009 totaling $304,995. Founded in 1886, the Legal Aid Bureau (LAB) of Metropolitan Family Services (MFS) is the oldest provider of legal services to low-income people in Chicago and the second oldest in the country. LAB provides free legal assistance to the impoverished, domestic violence victims, children and the elderly. This grant specifically supports LAB’s Poverty Law Project located at Metropolitan Family Services’ Midway and Calumet Community Centers, providing community-based consumer and housing law advice, representation and education to underserved residents of Chicago’s south side. As the charitable affiliate of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Foundation’s mission is to ensure meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means, and to assist lawyers who can no longer support themselves due to incapacity.
  • July 8, 2009 | ISBA News
    ISBA president John O'Brien featured in Daily Herald
    President O'Brien discusses diversity and the need for Illinois to do a better job of providing legal help for low-income families. The new president of the Illinois State Bar Association describes himself as "the suburban white Irish guy," but John O'Brien thinks the profession and the association need more diversity. Click here for the full story
  • July 6, 2009 | ISBA News
    Sun-Times highlights ISBA's Lincoln mosaic poster
    Chicago Sun-Times Advertising Critic Lew Lazare discussed the Illinois State Bar Association's Lincoln mosaic poster in today's column: The organization's latest marketing initiative from & Wojdyla is a poster that features a prominent image of Abraham Lincoln, perhaps Illinois' most famous -- and readily recognizable -- attorney. But recently a few other attorneys with strong connections to Illinois also have become almost as famous as Lincoln, and they are included in the dense collage of tiny headshots of past or present ISBA members that are superimposed over the poster's dominant Lincoln image. ISBA members can also submit their photo to danderson@isba.org to be seen in the next edition of the poster. Click here to read the full story (3rd item) Click here to order the poster
  • July 2, 2009 | Member Services | ISBA News
    Lincoln mosaic poster available for purchase - and get your photo in the next one

    The Illinois State Bar Association's Lincoln mosaic poster that includes the faces of ISBA members is available for purchase. ISBA members can also submit their photo to danderson@isba.org to be seen in the next edition of the poster.

  • July 1, 2009 | ISBA News
    6 ISBA members become Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation
    [caption id="attachment_1673" align="alignright" width="225" caption="ISBA Immediate Past President Jack Carey (right) thanks Gary Cline of Springfield for his donation to the Illinois Bar Foundation. "][/caption] Six Illinois State Bar Association members joined The Fellows of the Illinois Bar Foundation during the ISBA Annual Meeting last week. Additionally, eight Fellows increased their pledges to IBF. The weekend raised $31,000 for the Illinois Bar Foundation. New Fellows
    • Gary Cline, Springfield
    • Kenya Jenkins-Wright, Chicago
    • Julie Matoesian, Edwardsville
    • Daniel O'Brien, Carlinville
    • Marian E. Perkins, Chicago
    • Michael T. Reagan, Ottawa
    Upgrades
    • William Anaya, Chicago
    • Perry Browder, East Alton
    • Thomas A. Else, Wheaton
    • Philip E. Koenig, Rock Island
    • Raquel G. Martinez, Chicago
    • Christine M. Ory, Wheaton
    • Perry Smith, Waukegan
    • Douglas B. Warlick, Geneva
    As the charitable affiliate of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Foundation’s mission is to ensure meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means, and to assist lawyers who can no longer support themselves due to incapacity.
  • June 30, 2009 | Events | ISBA News | Practice News
    IBF Awards Grant to Catholic Urban Program’s Neighborhood Law Office in East St. Louis

    [caption id="attachment_1547" align="alignright" width="300" caption="IBF Grants Committee Member Ann Hatch of Belleville presents a $15,000 grant to Kathleen O’Keefe, attorney for the Neighborhood Law Office. "][/caption] The Illinois Bar Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to announce a $15,000 grant to Catholic Urban Program's Neighborhood Law Office in East St. Louis, one of 32 grants awarded this year totaling $304,995. The Neighborhood Law Office works with residents of East St. Louis to create healthy, safe and strong neighborhoods to stabilize and revitalize a decaying city. NLO brings about demolition of unsafe, abandoned structures, pressures local government for prompt and universal property code enforcement, and saves homes from foreclosure under predatory bond-for-deed home loan practices. Since 1996, NLO has helped bring about the demolition of more than 1600 dangerous, vacant buildings and removal of illegally dumped trash from over 280 lots. As the charitable affiliate of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Foundation's mission is to ensure meaningful access to the justice system, especially for those with limited means, and to assist lawyers who can no longer support themselves due to incapacity. This past year, through the support of ISBA members, IBF distributed more than $425,000 to support these efforts.
  • June 29, 2009 | ISBA News
    ISBA Assembly meets at 2009 Annual Meeting
    The ISBA Assembly convened on Saturday, June 27, at the Abbey in Lake Geneva. Key debate was over the ISBA's 2009-2010 budget, which the Assembly passed. The new budget includes a change in reimbursement policy. These changes are:
    • The creation of a 75-mile radius threshold for the reimbursement of travel and lodging related to council and committee meetings. Those traveling from within that radius will not be reimbursed, those outside that radius will receive a 90% reimbursement. The Annual and Midyear meetings are excluded from this change.
    • Section council and committee members attending their meetings at the Annual and Midyear Meetings will receive a 90% reimbursement of their travel and lodging expenses.
    • Board of Governors members attending Board Meetings will be reimbursed at the rate of 90% of actual expenditures.
    The Assembly also approved a number of election bylaw changes originally presented at the May 22, 2009, Board of Governors Meeting.

    Para. 2.12

    Candidates and persons supporting or endorsing candidates shall not use ISBA titles, or local or specialized bar association titles in ISBA mailings or publications or promotional materials developed by, or at the special request of, candidates. This exclusion includes affiliation, firm name, office, or title (including Honorable, Judge, or Past President and similar titles) of such candidate's committee or list of supporters.
  • June 29, 2009 | ISBA News
    John W. Damisch's take on the 2009 Annual Meeting
    It is tradition that longtime ISBA member John W. Damisch (John the Farmer) provides his personal recap from annual meetings. Here's hist take of the 2009 Annual Meeting at The Abbey in Lake Geneva. A preview: Again everyone at the party were dressed fit too kill....especially our leaders...all in tuxes. As I said I put my 53 year old tux on in the men's room....I had to spend about 10 minutes "sucking it in" and finally got the pants buttoned at the top. I had skipped lunch hoping that would help but it didn't.
  • June 29, 2009 | Events | ISBA News | Practice News
    Breaking legal news for Monday, June 29

    Central Illinois

    Southern Illinois

    Nation

    SCOTUS

    This post is updated with breaking news throughout the day.