Thanks for the Memories!

As President Hartigan winds down his term, his thoughts are filled with his personal highlights and thanks.

My term as president of the ISBA is coming to an end. As I reflect on the past year, I recall fond memories of visiting with our bar groups throughout Illinois. Indeed, meeting you at your local events was a top priority - and a full-time commitment. But the privilege was all mine. As I bid you farewell, I depart with special thanks to the following:

• The Morgan County Bar, for inviting me to speak at its Thanksgiving luncheon;
• The Vermillion County Bar, and its role in naming its county courthouse after Justice Rita Garman;
• The Peoria County Bar, where I spoke at its Lawyers' Assistance Program dinner;
• The Sangamon County Bar, for being a part of my final Board of Governors' meeting;
• The Winnebago and Madison/St. Clair county bars, which were hosts for Board of Governors' meetings and related events;
• The Champaign County Bar, where the Illinois Supreme Court held a formal session and heard arguments;
• The LaSalle County Bar, for honoring me as its Law Day Dinner keynote speaker;
• The DuPage County Bar Association, for its award and St. Patrick's Day event; and,
• The ISBA Women and Law's Afternoon Tea event commemorating International Women's Day.

I also owe my gratitude to numerous people and organizations, including:

• Continuing Legal Education coordinators, who asked me to speak at eight ISBA CLE programs;
• Evan Schanerberger and his committee, for pulling off two major Young Lawyers events;
• Ald. Ed Burke, for speaking at my installation and sponsoring a Chicago City Council resolution in my honor;
• Former Attorney General Neal Hartigan, for his remarkable speech at my installation;
• Cheryl Nino (past ISBA president); John Phipps, Tim Moran, Daniel Saeedi, and Sharon Eiseman, for their hard work leading special committees and initiatives;
• Phi Alpha Delta, for its St. Patrick's Luncheon Award;
• The St. Ignatius Law Society, for its Alumni Award for excellence (with a nod to co-awardee former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley);
• The Illinois Government Lawyers Association, for its Distinguished Service Award for lifetime achievement;
• The Decalogue Society, for its Light of Trivia award;
• The Irish Legal Society Meeting, for its plaque and meeting with the Ireland Supreme Court in Dublin;
• The Illinois Judges Association, for its President's Service Award;
• For our many members who embraced the Privacy and Information Security Law Section that we launched during my term;
• My friends on the Assembly and Board of Governors - particularly my close friend Al Durkin;
• The wonderful ISBA staff, committee and section members, and countless other groups that supported my presidential year;
• My son Michael, who may, someday, pick up where I left off; and, last but not least,
• My wife Susan, who deserves a special award of her own;

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your president. More importantly, thank you for belonging to the ISBA!