Timothy Christian Wins NWSBA Mock Trial Invitational;
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April 2011 Dedicated to improving the quality of life in ourN communityewsbriefs by inspiring excellence in the practice of law Timothy Christian Wins NWSBA Mock Trial Invitational; Team Members Receive $5,000 in Tuition Waivers from John Marshall Law School Timothy Christian High School’s Team No. 1 took No. 1 honors at the recent Northwest Suburban Bar Association’s 2011 Mock Trial Invitational. Each of the nine members of the Elmhurst school’s team also won $5,000 in tuition waivers to John Marshall Law School, which co-sponsored the 15th annual Invitational, held Feb. 26 in the real-life setting of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Third Municipal District courthouse in Rolling Meadows. The waivers are good for 20 years. Highland Park High School took second place and those team members received waivers of $3,000 The 1st Place Team, Timothy Christian High School Team 1. each, while members of the third-place Mundelein Each member of the team received a $5,000 tuition waiver from John Marshall Law School. Timothy Christian went on High School team received waivers of $2,000 each. to place 2nd in the State competition. Blake Cecil of Normal Community High School was named “Most Outstanding Attorney” at the invitational. Dan Szoke of Mundelein High waivers for each member of the top three teams. I School was named “Most Outstanding Witness.” look forward to welcoming you to John Marshall Law Fourteen Cook County judges donned their School.” robes on a Saturday morning to preside over the cases NWSBA President Lee DeWald introduced the and 44 NWSBA members/attorneys volunteered their Third District’s new presiding judge, the Honorable time as scoring William Maki. Judge Maki made one of his first pub- Issue Features: judges. lic appearances as presiding judge at the Invitational, Grace Okorie welcoming the students, teachers, visitors, judges and of John Mar- volunteers. President’s Page 3 shall’s Fair “Since this courthouse opened, it’s been a Housing Legal very, very busy place,” he told the crowd. “We’ve Table of Contents 5 Clinic presented handled some controversial cases,” and handled them Family Matters 10 the waivers to well, he said, complimenting the many judges who During This Month 14 the victorious work out of the Rolling Meadows courthouse. students. “I ap- “Mock Trial is a wonderful learning experi- Recent Decisions 16 plaud you,” she ence,” he said to the students about to compete in the Board Meeting 22 told the students. case of the People vs. Grey. In wishing them luck, he Highlights “Based on your added, “To use the baseball adage, you win some, you performance I’m lose some, and some are rained out.” Calendar 28 honored to pres- ent these tuition Continued on Page 7 Newsbriefs - 2 Professional Liability Newly Licensed Insurance Attorney Program Surety Bonds Risk Management Rated “A” Excellent Endorsed by Illinois by A.M. Best Company State Bar Association Exclusive Program Exclusively Serving Designed for the Lawyers and Law Newly-Admitted Lawyer Firms Since 1988 Over $9.7M in Policyholder Free CLE and Dividends Since 2000 Premium Savings STRONG, COMMITTED & DEDICATED 800-473-4722 www.isbamutual.com Newsbriefs - 3 President’s Page by: Lee DeWald Last month I wrote about Egypt and the affect that social media had on its emerging democracy. This month I write about the madness in Madison (not the “Madhouse on Madison”). 2010 was a historic election at the state level for the Republicans. By adding over 720 legislative seats to their column in the past two years, Republicans easily cleared the 1994 expectations bar. In 1994, they net- ted over 500 seats and the majority in 20 legislative bodies. There are now more Republican state legislatures (3,941) than in any point since they held 4,001 seats after the 1928 election. In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker was elected by a majority of the voters in Wisconsin. He cam- paigned on a promise to slash spending and make state government run better. He committed himself to de- livering billions of dollars of tax breaks to corporations while coping with a multi-billion dollar deficit. When Governor Walker took office, he immediately went to work on the budget deficit. Wisconsinites also voted for a majority of Republicans in the Wisconsin state senate races. People in the Badger State wanted fiscal responsibility from their state government. When Governor Walker delivered his Budget Repair Bill, instead of doing their jobs, the Democratic State Senators (14 in number) fled Wisconsin. It was rumored that these State Senators took refuge in the Clock Tower Inn in Rockford, Illinos. These 14 Senators took an oath of office pursuant to the Wisconsin Constitution Article 4, Section 28 which states: “SECTION 28. Members of a legislature, and all officers, executive and judicial, ex- cept such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, shall before they enter upon the du- ties of their respective offices, take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin, and faithfully to discharge the duties of their respective offices to the best of their ability.” By abandoning the state, these 14 State Senators have failed to faithfully discharge the duties of their respective offices and to serve their constituents. The very democracy that was cheered in Egypt and the very democracy that we cheer here requires debate on issues; and, when a vote is taken, a cast of that vote whether “Yea” or “Nay”. The missing State Senators do not have the option to thwart our democracy. By doing so, they are saying elections do not mat- ter and the democratic process does not matter. They are the oppressors and the Mubaraks. Do the job of the people because you are there for the people. It is an embarrassment to the very democracy that they claim to hide behind. Get back to work Sena- tors! By the way, who decided on the Clock Tower Inn? Newsbriefs - 4 THANK YOU! NWSBA would like to thank all its members who Attorneys who volunteer for the Pro Se Court Pro- volunteered to work Pro Se and Court Facilitator gram assist pro se litigants with preparation of in March at the Third District Circuit Court. Your documents and answer general questions regarding time and effort is very much appreciated. small claims, landlord/tenant and divorce cases. The desk is open on Friday afternoons from 1:00 Pro Bono Attorneys: Paternity Attorneys: pm to 3:00 pm or until the last court call is done. Jeffrey Marks Anna Bush Gregory Martucci Anthony Calzaretta The Court Facilitator Program benefits the attor- Clyde Ogg Dianne Ruthman neys as well as the Judges that preside over domes- Andrew Potter Terry Slaw tic relation cases. In addition to assisting pro se Court Facilitator Attorneys: litigants, attorneys who volunteer for this program Robert Boszko are there to help settle all pending Domestic Rela- tion cases. This program takes place on Tuesdays Gary Brunke and Thursdays from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. We Crystal Bush also need facilitators to assist the paternity call on Miriam Cooper Thursdays from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. Sandra Coscino Allen Gabe Do your part! Sign up for these important pro- Brian Heise grams and help give back to the community! Patrick O’Day For more information contact Denise Green at Kiley Whitty the NWSBA office, 847-221-2601 or dgreen@ Rebecca Zeilenga nwsba.org. W H Y A T G ? I have experience with other underwriters— ATG’s service is the best, hands down. Placing a title order is fast and efficient thanks to their technology, but the human side is great too. And you can’t beat ATG for CLE. The quality, variety, and convenience are all outstanding. I’m in close contact with ‘‘ATG staff on every transaction. As soon as ATG has closing figures, I know I’ll have my client’s HUD-1 or bottomline amount. Being an ATG member makes it easy to earn referrals; people have a positive experience with my services through ATG, they pass that on. ATG works for me. I mean that in every sense of the word. Jon Sherry, Chicago ATG Member since 2006 ’’ ATG: Making good lawyers better. 800.252.0402 Contact us for more information: ATG is an Illinois Accredited Phil Krawiec Continuing Legal Education Provider. WWW.ATGF.COM Business Development Representative Offices in: Champaign | Chicago, | Frankfort Direct Phone: 312.752.1219 Libertyville | Lombard | Mt. Prospect | Oak Lawn E-mail: [email protected] Skokie | Wheaton | Belleville | Madison, Wis. NLT | Belvidere | Crystal Lake | Rockford Newsbriefs - 5 Table of Contents Newsbriefs Editor & Chairperson: Title Page Michael A. Meschino Mock Trial Recap 1 Published by: NWSBA President’s Page 3 Production Editor: Julie Barth Thank You’s 4 Deadline to submit: 15th of the month Cub’s Outing & CLE Registration 6 Advertising Rates: Traffic Law Update 8 Call 847-221-2601 Judges’ Night Registration 9 Northwest Suburban Bar Association Family Matters 10 Executive Committee President: Lee F. DeWald Nominating Committee Recommendations 12 Executive VP: Donald J. Cosley First VP: Neil H. Good Editor’s Rant 13 Second VP: Michael A. Meschino During This Month 14 Treasurer: William F. Kelley Secretary: Ronald F. Wittmeyer Mock Trial Photo Recap 15 Executive Director: Julie Barth Recent Decisions 16 Board of Governors “E-Discovery Update” 18 Jay A. Andrew Members in the News 21 Anna Markley Bush Miriam E. Cooper March Board Meeting Highlights 22 Scott B. Friedman Allen S. Gabe Law Day 2011 23 Colin Gilbert Condolences 23 Andrew Haber Thomas Kolodz Senior Celebration Day Volunteer Notice 23 Michael Lightfoot Notes From the Editor 24 Maxwell Petersen Michael Rothmann Call for Associate Editors 24 Nichole Waltz Annual Meeting Registration 25 Immediate Past President: Pub Trawlers Page 26 Scott Barber Bulletin Board 27 Association Attorney: Ilonka Ulrich Calendar 28 Parliamentarian: Jackie LeFevre ABA TECH SHOW Need Help? 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