People

[caption id="attachment_6252" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Stephen Bell"][/caption] Chicago law firm Grady Pilgrim Christakis Bell LLP announced today that attorney Stephen Bell, one of the founding partners of the Chicago law firm Goldberg Kohn Bell Black Rosenbloom & Moritz, Ltd., has joined Grady Pilgrim as a partner. Bell chaired Goldberg Kohn's Real Estate Group from 1996 to 2007, and served on its Management Committee for many years until his recent resignation.  Grady Pilgrim is a Chicago-based law firm founded in October 2008 by four former partners of the Chicago law firm Arnstein & Lehr LLP. Bell received his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard University in 1969 and his A.B.

William C. Butcher, formerly of Melrose Park, passed away on Nov. 28, 2009, at his home in Kent, Wash. Bill was born Jan. 30, 1924, in Rock Island. He married Velma Melton on Jan. 1, 1943, in Chicago. He served in the Army Air Corp in the South Pacific during WWII. He graduated from John Marshall Law School in 1953 and practiced law for 40 years. He enjoyed playing chess, and he loved the Lord. Having retired, Bill and Velma moved to Washington six years ago. Bill is survived by his brother, Ted, and sister, June; his daughter, Mary; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife and their daughter, Patricia. Burial will take place 9:00 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, 2009, at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Wash. Arrangements by Marlatt Funeral Home in Kent, Wash.

Longtime attorney John D. Drew died recently at his home in Benton. Drew began his career as an attorney in 1979, and was a member of the Franklin County Bar Association and the Illinois Bar Association. “Many people didn’t realize the pro bono work that John did,” Muir noted. “I’ve had a dozen people tell me over the last few days that John had handled things for them and didn’t charge them a dime.” Read the full obituary in the Benton Evening News.

[caption id="attachment_5931" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Justice Thomas Kilbride"][/caption] Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas L. Kilbride has been named Judge of the Year by the Illinois Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Justice Kilbride was honored and received the award on Friday, Nov. 20, at the University Club in Chicago. "Justice Kilbride was chosen not only because of his career on the Illinois Supreme Court, but also because of his 20 years in private practice," said Illinois ABOTA president Geoffrey L. Gifford. "His good public works, all the good things he's done in pro bono and other community service make him an unusually well-qualified candidate for this award." ABOTA is a 50-year-old national organization of civil trial lawyers comprised of an equal number of well-respected, highly talented plaintiff and defense attorneys. Its primary focus is to preserve the right of a trial by jury in civil cases, and the independence of the judiciary. The Illinois Chapter has about 90 members. Justice Kilbride, who grew up in Kankakee, received his B.A. degree magna cum laude from Saint Mary's in 1978; and his law degree from Antioch School of Law in Washington D.C. in 1981. While in law school, Justice Kilbride completed judicial internships for the administrative assistant to the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and for U.S. District Court Judge Joyce Hens Green.