Chair’s column

ISBA President John Thies and his wife Terry “officially” announced the launch of Lawyers Feeding Illinois (LFI) at the ISBA Chicago Regional Office on November 14, and ISBA members learned more about the challenge at the ISBA/Illinois Judges Association joint Mid-Year Meeting.

Lawyers Feeding Illinois (LFI) is a competitive food and fund-raising campaign among lawyers and legal organizations across Illinois. LFI will support the work of Feeding Illinois, a charitable 501(c)(3) organization that is Illinois’ state food bank association. Its eight member food banks serve every county in Illinois through a vast network of partners, including food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters. Remarkably, of the 1.9 million people struggling with hunger, over 1.4 million have been assisted by their network.

LFI is chaired by a volunteer steering committee comprised of members of the ISBA in cooperation with Feeding Illinois. Standing Committee on Women and the Law member Shira Truitt is a member of the steering committee.

From February 18 - March 1, 2013, teams of lawyers will compete to earn points by collecting food and funds. 100% of all donations, net of processing fees for credit card donations and campaign-related expenses, will support each team’s regional food bank, so contributions directly supports each respective team’s community. At the end of the campaign, awards will be presented to the teams who raise the most points overall and per capita in several categories. For complete details about the campaign, visit the Web site at www.lawyersfeedingIL.org.

At our December 14, 2012 meeting, the Standing Committee on Women and the Law voted to form a team to support LFI. Because our members practice statewide, we did not select a particular food bank to receive our contributions. Rather, we will make financial donations that will be allocate to each committee member’s local food bank. Although steering committee member Jon Racklin informed me that we were the first ISBA committee to register, the online registration program did not allow him to complete our registration. He assured me he would follow up to secure that registration. In the meantime, should you wish to contribute offline, please send checks to my office payable to “Feeding Illinois” c/o Sandy Blake, Life Span, P. O. Box 1515, Des Plaines, IL 60017, and I will turn them in at the end of the campaign. Please include “Lawyers Feeding Illinois” on the memo line of the check so that it gets credited toward our campaign.

We have extended an invitation to the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois and the Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women to join our team, but as of press time, have not received their response.

As the holiday season winds down, I am reminded of the modern twist on the Christmas story…. You do know what would have happened if it had been three wise WOMEN instead of men, don’t you? They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and brought practical gifts!

Let’s show them how it’s done! ■