ISBA News


Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko (middle) received the 2013 Law Enforcement Award from the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) at a luncheon and awards presentation held during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, on April 23, at the Gurnee Park District, Viking Park Hall, in Gurnee. ISBA Executive Director Robert Craghead (left) presented the award.The event was sponsored by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Lake County Chiefs of Police Association.

The ISBA’s 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 is given sparingly to recognize those who truly excel in the field of law enforcement. 

In addition to fulfilling his professional duties, Chief Filenko has made numerous other contributions to the community where he works and lives. As the Commander of Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, he has fostered an extraordinary level of cooperation between task force members and the 35 communities it serves. He is a past president of the Lake County Chiefs of Police and chair of its Police Gang Committee.

Durkin, Enright, Gamrath, Sosin, Duignan and Rochford win contested Board races

Vincent F. Cornelius
Vincent F. Cornelius
Vincent F. Cornelius has been elected third vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association. He will serve one year in each of three vice presidential offices and then become president of the statewide organization in 2016.  Cornelius is the principal of The Law Offices of Vincent F. Cornelius, with offices in Wheaton and Joliet, where he concentrates in civil and criminal litigation.

Cornelius, who will become the ISBA’s first African-American president, was appointed in June 2011 as an At-large member of the ISBA Board of Governors.  The at large position was established to provide leadership opportunities under-represented segments of the association and its governance.  He was first elected to the Board of Governors in 1999 as a downstate Under Age 37 member.  

Cornelius was an associate with the law firm of James D. Montgomery and Associates, the predecessor firm of Cochran and Montgomery in Chicago, where he practiced in the areas of civil and criminal litigation.  He is also a former DuPage County Assistant State’s Attorney. Vince was president of the Illinois Bar Foundation from 2008-2010, he has served as a member of the Governor’s Commission on Criminal Law Reform, and as Chancellor of the ISBA’s Academy of Illinois Lawyers.

Cornelius received his law degree in 1989 from Northern Illinois University College of Law, in DeKalb, and his B.B.A. in 1986 from the University of St. Francis, in Joliet, where he was an Academic All American.


The Illinois State Bar Association's Lawyer Finder service connects consumers to Illinois lawyers - by phone Mondays through Fridays, and around the clock at illinoislawyerfinder.com.

Here are the results for April 2013:

  • 683 phone referrals made by Lawyer Finder staff
  • Most requested areas of law: Family (117), Employment Law (75), Personal Injury (78), Criminal Law (68), Real Estate (66), Civil Disputes (51)
  • 24,285 visits to IllinoisLawyerFinder.com (21,431 unique visitors)
  • 635 clicks to Find a Lawyer (from campaign landing pages only)
  • 898 unique calls to Find a Lawyer
  • Top 3 online topics: Employment Law, General/Find a Lawyer, Divorce

Want to be part of the ISBA Lawyer Finder Service? Call (800) 252-8908 and ask for the Legal Department, or visit www.illinoislawyerfinder.com

Clients should call (800) 922-8757.


ISBA Executive Director Robert E. Craghead (left) presents Jacksonville Detective Brad Rogers with the ISBA’s Law Enforcement Award at a ceremony on May 1 at the Illinois State Police Training Academy in Springfield. Also pictured is Morgan County Circuit Judge Chris Reif, who nominated detective Rogers for the award.

The ISBA’s 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.

Vincent Cornelius
Vincent Cornelius
Here is the Tellers report for the 2013 ISBA election:

CONTESTED RACES (winners in bold)

Third Vice-President – 1 to be elected

  • Vincent F. Cornelius, Wheaton   2,016
  • Carl R. Draper, Springfield           1,592

Board of Governors – Cook County – 4 to be elected

  • Deane Beth Brown, Chicago                  434   
  • Al Durkin, Chicago                              599   
  • Karen McNulty Enright, Chicago           731   
  • Celia Gamrath, Chicago                       851   
  • Mark L. Karno, Chicago                         416             
  • Pamela J. Kuzniar, Chicago                    372   
  • Pamela Sakowicz Menaker, Wilmette      464       
  • Timothy E. Moran, Chicago                             439   
  • J. Damian Ortiz, Chicago                       343
  • David Sosin, Orland Park                     567   

Board of Governors – Area 2 (Circuits 17, 19 and 22) – 1 to be elected

  • Cheri N. Greenlee, Rockford                  108
  • Elizabeth M. Rochford, Lake Forest       150
  • Mark W. Simons, Waukegan                    50

ISBA President John E. Thies asks Illinois Bar Foundation President Hon. Debra Walker how IBF is addressing the issue of access to justice in Illinois. They also discuss the IBF Lawyers Care Fund - how lawyers help take care of their own.

ISBA President-elect presents the Law Enforcement Award to Darryl K. McPherson.
ISBA President-elect presents the Law Enforcement Award to Darryl K. McPherson.
Darryl K. McPherson, a United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois, today received the 2013 Law Enforcement Award from the Illinois State Bar Association at a ceremony held at the E.M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn, in Chicago. ISBA President-elect Paula H. Holderman presented the award.

The ISBA’s 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 is given sparingly to recognize those who truly excel in the field of law enforcement.

During his time at the helm of the U.S. Marshals Service for the Northern District of Illinois, Marshal McPherson has made a significant contribution to preventing and minimizing the impact of crime. He has also led the Marshals Service in getting involved in numerous community and charitable events that shed a favorable light on law enforcement.


Be a part of the conversation. Join us on Law Day – Wednesday, May 1 – as we host an open discussion on the challenges facing Illinois lawyers and the legal profession.

What are the issues facing you and your colleagues? Law school debt? Keeping up with technology? Finding work? Competition from DIY law? Maintaining a work/life balance?

Tweet to #IllinoisLawyers to share your thoughts and experiences.

Ground Rules: Keep it clean. Keep it constructive. Keep it on topic.

Visit us on Twitter @ISBAlawyer and @ISBAmembership.

Learn more about the Town Hall Meeting via Twitter at www.isba.org/illinoislawyers.

The last day to vote in the ISBA election is tomorrow, April 30. VR Election Services, ISBA’s election provider, has e-mailed e-ballots to members with valid email addresses and mailed paper ballots to members without email addresses. If you haven’t received your e-ballot, please check your email spam under the suffix vres.us. If your e-ballot is not in your spam folder, or if you received an electronic ballot and want to vote by paper ballot, please contact VRES at (800) 218-4026 or by email at custserv@vres.us.

Online voting ends at 4:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 30th. Paper ballots must be received at VR Election Services in Texas by 4:30 p.m. CT on Monday, April 29, in order to be counted.

View candidate bios at www.isba.org/elections/bios

The copy of these publications delivered right to your inbox are now much more user-friendly on a handheld device.

You can also now access the most current issue of E-Clips at the tap of a button. Just go to http://www.isba.org/eclips/current and save an icon to your homescreen.

The entire ISBA website has also become mobile friendly - find out more at iln.isba.org/blog/2013/04/09/isba-website-goes-mobile