Illinois State Bar Association
The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) is a bar association active throughout Illinois. Approximately 30,000 lawyers are members of the ISBA. (Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA membership is not required of lawyers licensed to practice in Illinois, and ISBA membership is totally voluntary.) The ISBA is headquartered in Springfield, Illinois.
History
The ISBA was founded on January 4, 1877 at a meeting held in the Sangamon County Courthouse in Springfield, Illinois attended by 88 lawyers from 37 counties. According to the association's constitution adopted at that time, the purpose of the association is: [T]o cultivate the science of jurisprudence, to promote reform in the law, to facilitate the administration of justice, to elevate the standard of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession, to encourage a thorough and liberal education, and to cherish a spirit of brotherhood among the members thereof.
This first meeting elected Anthony Thornton as first president of the ISBA.
In 1879, the ISBA gained notoriety after it granted honorary membership to Myra Bradwell and Ada Kepley after they were denied admission to the bar on the grounds that they were women.
Responding to a request from the Supreme Court of Illinois on how to improve the quality of Illinois lawyers, in 1897 the ISBA and the Chicago Bar Association recommended that the court require lawyers to have at least a high school education; they also recommended creating what would become the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar. The Illinois Supreme Court accepted both recommendations.
The ISBA would later lead a crusade against the unauthorized practice of law; in 1931, they brought a suit against People's Stock Yards State Bank in which they convinced the Illinois Supreme Court to declare that it had the inherent authority to punish anyone who practiced law without a law license.
The ISBA spent decades lobbying for reform of Illinois' civil procedure, and this ultimately paid off in 1933, when the Illinois General Assembly passed the Civil Practice Act of 1933.
In 1962, the ISBA led a campaign to change the judicial article of the Illinois Constitution. The ISBA also played a large role in developing the the current Illinois Criminal Code (1961) and Illinois Code of Criminal Procedure (1963).
In the 1970s and 1980s, the ISBA lobbied successfully to have Illinois adopt a regime of no-fault divorce and for independent administration of decedents' estates.
The ISBA also played a role in creating the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Client Security Fund of the Bar of Illinois, the Lawyers' Assistance Program, and the Lawyers Trust Fund.
Organization and Activities
The ISBA's supreme policy making body is the ISBA Assembly, consisting of 201 lawyer members elected by ISBA members, representing districts throughout Illinois. The Assembly meets twice a year. Between meetings, the ISBA is governed by a 25-member Board of Governors (headed by the president of the ISBA) elected by the Assembly.
The ISBA is currently divided into 40 substantive law divisions, allowing ISBA members the opportunity to meet other lawyers who practice in the same field. Each section publishes a newsletter to keep its members aware of substantive changes in the field of law. The sections also offer continuing legal education services for members. One of these sections, the Young Lawyers Division, is for lawyers 36 years old and younger, and is designed to give young lawyers an opportunity to meet and discuss issues peculiar to younger practitioners.
The ISBA also has 32 standing committees created by either the Assembly or the Board of Governors. Each committee consists mainly of members appointed by the ISBA president. These committees study issues facing the legal community and make recommendations to the ISBA Assembly.
The ISBA sponsors a number of publications, including the Illinois Bar Journal and Illinois Lawyer Now, in addition to the section newsletters.
The ISBA provides a number of services to its members, including eligibility to purchase malpractice insurance through the ISBA Mutual Insurance Company.
The ISBA gives out a number of rewards recognizing professional achievement in the legal profession, the most prestigious of which is the ISBA Laureate Award.
The ISBA also sponsors a charitable wing, the Illinois Bar Foundation that promotes pro bono work and other legal work in the public interest.
List of Presidents of the ISBA
Anthony Thornton, Shelbyville, 1877-1879
David McCulloch, Peoria, 1880
Orville Hickman Browning, Quincy, 1881
Elijah B. Sherman, Chicago 1881
Charles C. Bonney, Chicago, 1882
William L. Gross, Springfield, 1883
David Davis, Bloomington, 1884
Benjamin S. Edwards, Springfield, 1885
Melville Fuller, Chicago, 1886
E. B. Green, Mount Carmel, 1887
Thomas Dent, Chicago, 1888
Ethelbert Callahan, Robinson, 1889
James B. Bradwell, Chicago, 1890
James M. Riggs, Winchester, 1891
Lyman Trumbull, Chicago, 1892
Samuel P. Wheeler, Springfield, 1893
Elliott Anthony, Chicago, 1894
Oliver H. Harker, Carbondale, 1895
John H. Hamline, Chicago, 1896-1897
Alfred Orendorff, Springfield, 1897-1898
Harvey B. Hurd, Chicago, 1898-1899
Benson Wood, Effingham, 1899-1900
Jessie Holdom, Chicago, 1900-1901
John S. Stevens, Peoria, 1901-1902
Murray F. Tuley, Chicago, 1902-1903
Charles L. Capen, Bloomington, 1903-1904
Stephen S. Gregory, Chicago, 1904-1905
George T. Page, Peoria, 1905-1906
Harrison Musgrave, Chicago, 1906-1907
James H. Matheny, Springfield, 1907-1908
E. P. Williams, Galesburg, 1908-1909
Edgar A. Bancroft, Chicago, 1909-1910
William R. Curran, Pekin, 1910-1911
Horace K. Tenney, Chicago, 1911-1912
Harry Higbee, Pittsfield, 1912-1913
Robert McMurdy, Chicago, 1913-1914
Edward C. Kramer, East St. Louis, 1914-1915
Nathan William MacChesney, Chicago, 1915-1916
Albert D. Early, Rockford, 1916-1917
Edgar Bronson Tolman, Chicago, 1917-1918
Walter M. Provine, Taylorville, 1918-1919
Frederick A. Brown, Chicago, 1919-1920
Logan Hay, Springfield, 1920-1921
Silas H. Strawn, Chicago, 1921-1922
Bruce A. Campbell, East St. Louis, 1922-1923
Roger Sherman, Chicago, 1923-1924
C.M. Clay Buntain, Kankakee, 1924-1925
John R. Montgomery, Chicago, 1925-1926
George H. Wilson, Quincy, 1926-1927
Rush C. Butler, Chicago, 1927-1928
Franklin L. Velde, Pekin, 1928-1929
John D. Black, Chicago, 1929-1930
Clarence W. Heyl, Peoria, 1930-1931
Amos C. Miller, Chicago, 1931-1932
June C. Smith, Centralia, 1932-1933
Floyd E. Thompson, Chicago, 1933-1934
James S. Baldwin, Decatur, 1934-1935
Charles P. Megan, Chicago, 1935-1936
Cairo A. Trimble, Princeton, 1936-1937
John F. Voigt, Chicago, 1937-1938
William D. Knight, Rockford, 1938-1939
Charles O. Rundall, Chicago, 1939-1940
Albert J. Harno, Urbana, 1940-1941
Benjamin Wham, Chicago, 1941-1942
Clarence W. Diver, Waukegan, 1942-1943
Warren B. Buckley, Chicago, 1943-1944
Henry C. Warner, Dixon, 1944-1945
Tappan Gregory, Chicago, 1945-1946
Kaywin Kennedy, Bloomington, 1946-1947
William M. James, Chicago, 1947-1948
Amos H. Robillard, Kankakee, 1948-1949
Albert E. Jenner, Jr., Chicago, 1949-1950
Aubrey L. Yantis, Shelbyville, 1950-1951
Joseph H. Hinshaw, Chicago, 1951-1952
Thomas J. Welch, Kewanee, 1952-1953
Timothy I. McKnight, Chicago, 1953-1954
Karl C. Williams, Rockford, 1954-1955
Thomas S. Edmonds, Chicago, 1955-1956
James G. Thomas, Champaign, 1956-1957
Barnabas F. Sears, Chicago, 1957-1958
Timothy W. Swain, Peoria, 1958-1959
David J. A. Hayes, Chicago, 1959 (died in office)
Gerald C. Snyder, Waukegan, 1959-1960
Edward B. Love, Monmouth, 1960-1961
Owen Rall, Chicago, 1961-1962
Mason Bull, Morrison, 1962-1963
Horace A. Young, Chicago, 1963-1964
Stanford S. Meyer, Belleville, 1964-1965
Peter Fitzpatrick, Chicago, 1965-1966
Russell N. Sullivan, Champaign, 1966-1967
Stanton L. Ehrlich, Chicago, 1967-1968
Alfred Younges Kirkland, Sr., Elgin, 1968-1969
Henry L. Pitts, Chicago, 1969-1970
H. Ogden Brainard, Charleston, 1970-1971
Morton John Barnard, Chicago, 1971-1972
Lyle W. Allen, Peoria, 1972-1973
William P. Sutter, Chicago, 1973-1974
John R. Mackay, Wheaton, 1974-1975
Lawrence X. Pusateri, Chicago, 1975-1976 (resigned Jan. 2, 1976 to run for Supreme Court of Illinois)
Francis J. Householter, Kankakee, 1976-1977 (served as president pro tem for remainder of Pusateri's term before being elected to his own term
Carole K. Bellows, Chicago, 1977-1978
Lloyd J. Tyler, Aurora, 1978-1979
John C. Mullen, Chicago, 1979-1980
Robert G. Heckenkamp, Springfield, 1980-1981
Michel A. Coccia, Chicago, 1981-1982
John C. Feirich, Carbondale, 1982-1983
Al Hofeld, Chicago, 1983-1984
Jon W. DeMoss, Springfield, 1984-1985
Fred Lane, Chicago, 1985-1986
Richard L. Thies, Urbana, 1986-1987
Donald C. Schiller, Chicago, 1987-1988
Jerome Mirza, Chicago/Bloomington, 1983-1989
Leonard F. Amari, Chicago, 1989-1990
Maurice E. Bone, Belleville, 1990-1991
Thomas A. Clancy, Chicago, 1991-1992
Peter H. Lousberg, Rock Island, 1992-1993
Tom Leahy, Chicago, 1993-1994
David A. Decker, Waukegan, 1994-1995
Terrence K. Hegarty, Chicago, 1995-1996
Ralph A. Gabric, Wheaton, 1996-1997
Todd A. Smith, Chicago, 1997-1998
Timothy L. Bertschy, Peoria, 1998-1999
Cheryl Niro, Chicago, 1999-2000
Herbert H. Franks, Marengo, 2000-2001
J. Timothy Eaton, Chicago, 2001-2002
Loren S. Golden, Elgin, 2002-2003
Terrance J. Lavin, Chicago, 2003-2004
Ole Bly Pace, Sterling, 2004-2005
Robert K. Downs, Chicago, 2005-2006
Irene F. Bahr, Wheaton, 2006-2007
Joseph G. Bisceglia, Chicago, 2007-2008
Jack C. Carey, Belleville, 2008-2009
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