BRAVO, CHRISTMAS SPIRITS!



Terri Mascherin (left) is shown with Christmas Spirits cast
members: Joseph Stone, Sonja Johnson, Corey Berman,
Mary McNichols and Julian Frazin.

 Each December for each of the past 87 years, the talented writers, performers and directors of the Chicago Bar Association’s Christmas Spirits show have entertained audiences in Chicago with their music and wit. The show is a wonderful vehicle for lawyers to laugh at ourselves, and at those in the judicial, political and business communities with whom we deal every day. Over the years the show has raised the ire of the judiciary, prompted a ringing defense of the importance of free speech from the Chicago Tribune and made many, many audiences laugh.

Today, the Chicago Bar Association Board of Managers adopted a Resolution saluting the members, past and present, of the Christmas Spirits show. The Resolution comes at a time when three key members of the show who have led productions for the past several years pass the microphone to new leaders and prepare to take their seats in the audience (or so they say). Special kudos go to Sonia Johnson, Corey Berman and Mary McNichols upon their retirement from Christmas Spirits. The text of the Board Resolution follows.

Christmas Spirits co-writer and long time performer
Julian Frazin performs a song at the Board of Managers
meeting.

This Resolution honors the past and present members of The Chicago Bar Association’s Annual "Christmas Spirits" show, and memorializes the Board of Managers’ heartfelt appreciation to these extraordinary men and women who have entertained us, and have provided us with so much laughter and so many fond memories for eighty seven years (and counting):





 

WHEREAS, the annual production of the "Christmas Spirits" Bar Show is a cornerstone of holiday entertainment for Chicago Bar Association members and their clients, families and guests;

WHEREAS, "Christmas Spirits" was organized in 1924 by John D. Black, the first Chairman of The Chicago Bar Association's Entertainment Committee, along with Entertainment Committee members, Russell Whitman, Edwin C. Austin, Homer H. Cooper and Richard Bentley;WHEREAS, Using their keen wit and freewheeling sense of humor, the founding members of the Chicago Bar Association's Entertainment Committee charted an ageless course for this "rollicking, impudent and uninhibitively perceptive annual frolic known as Christmas Spirits";

WHEREAS, Since its debut performance in 1924, the curtain has continuously opened on a brand new "Christmas Spirits" production every year for 87 consecutive years;

WHEREAS, on December 7-11, 2010, the 87^th Annual Performance of "Christmas Spirits" was presented by a cast of 58, including choreographers, directed by Mary McNichols, lyrics and book by Art Garwin and Julian Frazin, and a Writers Committee consisting of John Corkery, Clifford Berman, Sonja Johnson (who also served as Business and Road Show Manager for many years), David Miller, Joseph Stone, Richard Vittenson, and accompanist Corey Berman;

WHEREAS, "Christmas Spirits" has withstood and weathered the harshness of critics for its impertinent and satirical assaults on important local, national and international figures - - - In 1930 George Packard prophetically wrote:  

"Bootleg liquor and Christmas Spirits grow deadlier every year, but the stouter they are the better their patrons seem to enjoy them…The perpetuation of Christmas Spirits as a yearly event seems assured."

;

WHEREAS, President Frank Greenberg wrote following considerable criticism of a number performed by John Tucker in the 1969 Christmas Spirits show:

"The show is either worth keeping as a free expression by the Entertainment Committee without censorship by the Board of Managers, or it is not worth keeping at all.  We have seen the risks.  But it seems to me that you either take the risk of the kind of reaction we have just had or you take an even less acceptable risk of reducing the show to a level of cautious banality, guaranteed to offend nobody and to interest few.";

WHEREAS, in 1929 George Swain, who was described as "an inveterate lyricist," penned the show’s most famous and enduring song "The Junior Partners," which has been performed annually by the cast at every Christmas Spirits show since 1929;

WHEREAS, year after year, the "Christmas Spirits" cast delivers a finely tuned, professional quality performance, with cleverly crafted lyrics poking fun at the legal profession, government at every level, and the sports and entertainment industries, while at the same time reminding us that the "Junior Partners" are the aces who win the cases, and are the ones who bring in all the fees;

WHEREAS, The Chicago Bar Association is fortunate to have had, and have, within its own ranks the most creative, talented, and dedicated members of a professional association of lawyers anywhere in the world.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED

 

I, the undersigned, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and complete copy of a Resolution adopted at a meeting of the Board of Managers of The Chicago Bar Association duly called and held at the quarters of the Association, 321 South Plymouth Court, Chicago, Illinois, on the 26^th day of May, 2011, a quorum being present, and said Resolution is now in full force and effect.

Dated: May 26, 2011

_______________________________________

Terri L. Mascherin
President
The Chicago Bar Association

Our special thanks also to all the Chairs of the Entertainment Committee (listed below) for their outstanding leadership.

1924 John D. Black
1925 Edwin C. Austin
1926 Edwin C. Austin
1927 Edwin C. Austin
1928 Ernest Palmer
1929 Franklin E. Vaughan
1930 George W. Swain
1931 Holman D. Pettibone
1932 Henry G. Miller
1933 John R. Heath
1934 Don Kenneth Jones
1935 Ralph D. Shanesy
1936 Ralph D. Shanesy
1937 Warren D. Buckley
1938 Warren D. Buckley
1939 Cranston Spray
1940 Chester R. Davis
1941 Thomas R. Mulroy
1942 L. Duncan Lloyd
1943 L. Duncan Lloyd
1944 Pressly L. Stevenson
1945 Thomas J. Underwood
1946 John Jones Sharon
1947 Charles R. Sprowl
1948 Allen D. Holloway
1949 Edwin R. Eckersall
1950 William H. Murphy
1951 Norman B. Eaton
1952 Gene C. Davis
1953 Russel M. Baird
1954 Arlindo S. Cate
1955 Vernon A. Peterson
1956 Robt. W. MacDonald
1957 Edward Hershenson
1958 Robt. F. Gudmundsen
1959 Farrington B. Kinne
1960 Robert F. Hanley
1961 Melvin C. Holmes
1962 Richard G. Kahn
1963 Fred Lane
1964 Gilbert H. Hennessy, Jr. 1965 Charles H. Scholfield
1966 Robert Jay Nye
1967 John H. McDermott
1968 Graham E. Heniken
1969 Royce Glenn Rowe
1970 Joseph L. Stone
1971 Phillip M. Citrin
1972 James R. Dowdall
1973 Julian J. Frazin
1974 E. Leonard Rubin
1975 J. Timothy Ritchie
1976 Joseph Winslow Baer
1977 Leonard Kravets
1978 Howard I. Wittenberg
1979 Dean M. Trafelet
1980 John E. Corkery
1981 Geoffrey A. Anderson
1982 Charles N. Goodnow
1983 Nathan G. Brenner, Jr.
1984 Chloe Arlan
1985 Stanley Zimmerman
1986 Frank T. Steponate
1987 Frederic S. Lane
1988 Gary S. Saipe
1989 Amy T. Dickinson
1990 Evan B. Karnes, II
1991 Chester R. Davis
1992 Mary J. McNichols
1993 Brian R. Gilomen
1994 Jeffrey M. Marks
1995 Sonja R. Johnson
1996 Allen S. Gabe
1997 Arthur H. Garwin
1998 Nandia P. Black

1999 Robert Canel



2000 Clifford Berman
2001 Corey Berman
2002 Loretto Kennedy
2003 Edith Schiller
2004 Richard L. Nagle
2005 Daniel Teinowitz

2006 Keri-Lyn Krafthefer
2007 Diana Vargo-Lewandowski
2008 Larry H. Aaronson
2009 Kathryn A. Kelly
2010 Richard J. Vittenson

Terry Mascherin (left) is pictured with cast members of Christmas
Spirits: Joseph Stone,Sonja Johnson, Corey Berman, Mary
McNichols and Julian Frazin.

that the Chicago Bar Association’s Board of Managers hereby recognizes, and proudly supports, the extraordinary contributions of past and present cast members who have written and performed "Christmas Spirits" through the ages, making it a wonderful holiday entertainment tradition that continues to make us laugh and smile at ourselves and our world. The Board of Managers extends its profound thanks, gratitude, and appreciation to the supremely talented men and women of the legal profession who make "Christmas Spirits" possible. They're each and every one of them a credit to the Bar.

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS OF

THE CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION

Three Honored with 2011 Liberty Bell Awards

 

 



With their Liberty Bell Awards are 2011 honorees (from left)
Margarita Llamas-Odom, Mortimer Smith and Joesph Indelli.



Mortimer Smith of DePaul University, Margarita Llamas-Odom of Exelon Corporation and Joseph Indelli of the Chicago Public Library were honored with 2011 Liberty Bell Awards at the annual Judges’ Reception Tuesday, April 26, at the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), 321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago. The award is presented by the Young Lawyers Section (YLS) of the CBA as part of its annual Law Week celebration and recognizes members of the community who are not attorneys and who have rendered service that strengthens the effectiveness of the American system of freedom under law.

Nominations were evaluated by a panel of bar association presidents. Judge Aurelia Pucinski, of the Cook County Circuit Court, presented the awards.

About the Honorees


Mortimer Smith, investigator for DePaul’s College of Law Clinical Programs and Assistant Director of the Center for Justice in Capital Cases, works for various Chicago firms as a defense investigator and teaches college courses at DePaul and Westwood College.



Professor Andrea D. Lyon, Associate Dean of Clinical Programs and Director of the Center for Justice in Capital Cases, says of him, "He is amazing to those of us who rely on his investigative skills, an inspiration to law and undergraduate students, and literally a life saver of poor clients.

 

"He is a leader among defense investigators and active in his African-American community with charities and other activities," she said. He is a long-time volunteer at a homeless shelter, the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph and helps coordinate its annual fundraising dinner.

Joseph Indelli, Technology Manager with the Chicago Public Library, volunteers his time to provide technological expertise to the Wills for Heroes Program. The effort puts volunteer attorneys in police stations and firehouses to provide no-cost simple estate planning to first responders such as police, firefighters, and EMTs and their families.

In nominating him, Daniel J. T. McKenna, President of the Wills for Heroes Foundation, wrote, "Without Joe, there would be no technology and without technology, there would be no program.
"He was introduced to the program, got hooked and has been active in just about every event since," McKenna wrote.
Of Margarita Llamas-Odom, who works as Senior Legal Coordinator at Exelon Corporation, McKenna wrote, "Few people were as instrumental in bringing this much-needed program to Chicago as Marge.
 About the Award
The Liberty Bell Award promotes the ideals of justice, liberty, and the importance of individual and community responsibility and is bestowed on honorees who have met the following qualifications:
a) they must not be lawyers;
b) they must have a sense of responsibility for community welfare and public duty under the law;
c) they must help others to understand and assert their rights under the law;
d) they must promote and encourage respect for and obedience to the law; and
e) they must assist the smooth functioning of our system of justice.

"In 2007, Marge was our first volunteer and she took on the unenviable task of coordinating our first Chicagoland event and obtaining all our volunteers. That first event provided nearly 50 first responders with free estate plans.

McKenna emphasizes the enormity of the task. Organizational problems are only amplified by the sheer size of the Chicago first responder community, he said. It is a community Llamas-Odom knows well. She is both the wife of a Chicago police officer and the mother of a police officer.





2011 Vanguard Awards Honor Six

   



At the Vanguard Awards luncheon are honorees (from left): Justice
William Cousins, Marc Firestone, Laura Ricketts, Edwin Reyes,
Selma D'Souza, Judge Manuel Barbosa and
CBA 1st Vice President Robert Clifford.

  A crowd of some 250 gathered at The Standard Club Wednesday, April 20 for the 2011 Vanguard Awards luncheon.  Six attorneys and judges who have expanded the diversity of the legal profession were honored by The Asian American Bar Association, The Chicago Bar Association, The Cook County Bar Association, The Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, The Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, and The Puerto Rican Bar Association.

Each of the sponsoring bar associations selected an honoree who has through his or her efforts, increased access to justice for the whole community. While other bar associations present diversity awards, the Vanguards are different because they allow lawyers from different communities to meet, learn about and hear from exceptional lawyers and organizations.

In 2011, the honorees were:


Hon. Manuel Barbosa, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois
       Hispanic Lawyers Association HonoreeJustice William Cousins, Jr., Illinois Appellate Court (ret.)
      Cook County Bar Association HonoreeSelma C. D’Souza, Legislative Director, Illinois Department of Healthcare
and Family Services
     Asian American Bar Association of Chicago Honoree
Marc Firestone, Executive Vice President, Corporate & Legal Affairs
and General Counsel, Kraft Foods, Inc.
     Chicago Bar Association Honoree
Edwin Reyes, Briskman, Briskman & Greenberg
     Puerto Rican Bar Association Honoree     
Laura M. Ricketts, Chicago Cubs Board Member; Chair,
The Chicago Cubs Charities
      Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago Honoree.
    

Hispanic Lawyers Association
of Illinois honoree Hon. Manuel
Barbosa (right), with President
of the HLAI Alfredo Maldonado


 

Cook County Bar Association honoree
Justice William Cousins (right)
with CCBA President Lawrence N. Hill






Asian American Bar Association of Chicago honoree Selma D'Souza (left) with AABAC
President Diana Lin.



Lesbian and Gay Bar Association
of Chicago honoree Laura M. Ricketts,
with LAGBAC President John Litchfield.

    

Chicago Bar Association honoree

Marc Firestone (left), with CBA
1st VP Robert A. Clifford.

  

Puerto Rican Bar Association Honoree
Edwin Reyes (right) with Charles
Romaker, President of the PRBA.