Mark your calendars for September 21! The members of the State & Local Taxation (SALT) Section and the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Section will be hosting a new member happy hour from 6-8 p.m. at The Godfrey Hotel's IO Rooftop Lounge in Chicago. This event, sponsored by SALT, is a great opportunity to socialize and network with your colleagues over refreshments and food. Registration includes two drink tickets and appetizers. The event is complimentary, but due to limited space, registration is encouraged.  Click here to register now, and please contact Kimi Jalali with any additional questions.

ISBA attended Chicago-Kent College of Law's student organization fair yesterday, August 29, to speak with current law students about the benefits of membership. Law students can become student members of ISBA for free for up to four years of law school, which includes access to Fastcase, E-Clips, the Illinois Bar Journal, and more. With law schools ramping up for the fall semester, ISBA will be visiting other Chicago-area law schools in the upcoming weeks.

In the employer-sponsored health plan environment, implementing the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) creates unique challenges. While HIPAA’s multitude of provisions may seem intuitive for health care providers, health plans may need to invoke a bit of creativity to account for realities like the storage of protected health information in an office environment and employees who perform roles for both the plan and the employer sponsor. However, with 2016 marking an all-time high for HIPAA enforcement cases and 2017 shaping up to be more of the same, it may be more important now than ever to address HIPAA compliance. Join us via the Internet on September 27, 2017 for a brief look at how HIPAA regulations apply to employer-sponsored health plans, and what these entities may consider when creating or updating their HIPAA compliance programs. Topics include: an in-depth look at the Privacy and Security Rules; best practices for implementing HIPAA in a health plan environment; breach reporting obligations under the Breach Notification Rule; an overview of the HIPAA enforcement landscape; and lessons learned from recent HIPAA enforcement cases. The program is presented by the ISBA Employee Benefits Section and qualifies for 1.0 hour MCLE credit. Click here for more information and to register.

Detective Carl Walker of the O’Fallon Police Department was awarded the ISBA Law Enforcement Award on August 21 during an O’Fallon City Council meeting at City Hall. Third Vice President Dennis Orsey presented the award. The ISBA Law Enforcement Award was created to recognize sworn law enforcement officers for conduct that promotes justice and to distinguish those individuals whose service to the public brings honor and respect to the entire criminal justice system. It recognizes those who excel in law enforcement. Detective Walker, who was nominated for the award by Captain Kirk Brueggeman of the O’Fallon Police Department, will be acknowledged for his efforts to automate the information sharing process for the St. Clair County Investigative Professional Group using information technology.