ISBA’s Federal Taxation Section Council Chair (2012-13) Leonard S, DeFranco (left) receives a plaque on behalf of the Section’s efforts to interact with tax authorities in Washington. ISBA president John E. Thies presented the plaque and a resolution honoring the Section Council’s efforts at a meeting of the Board of Governors, March 8, 2013 in Urbana. The resolution is below:

Whereas, beginning in May, 1999, and in every May since then, members of the ISBA Federal Taxation Section Council have traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with House and Senate committee members and staff to discuss federal tax and estate tax issues; and

Whereas, because of their efforts, problems and issues facing practitioners in the tax and estate fields in Illinois, are communicated directly to those in a position to address them; and

Whereas, over the years that Section Council members have been making these visits, valuable relationships have been established in meetings with members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, and with the Internal Revenue Service Taxpayer Advocate;

Therefore, be it resolved that the officers and Board of Governors express their sincere appreciation for the efforts of the Federal Taxation Section Council and to those members who, often at their own expense, have created an important liaison with federal government officials in the tax field.