Please find a substitute if you are unable to fulfill your assignment; Just call or e-mail a fellow member and ask him/her to sub. Tom Evans - tom.evans527@gmail.com- who chairs the service committee, will confirm assignments. Sgt. at arms helps set up and store our stuff, please come 15 minutes early and be prepared to stay a few minutes after the meeting; Greeter greets and announces names of visiting Rotarians and guests; Thought of the Day can be spontaneous or read from a script; Dig 'n Grin can make us laugh or think seriously.
The meeting was attended by 26 members along with 2 guests: Marie Kypers was from the Northbrook Rotary club and Greg Skirving (CB Residential) was the guest of David Birkenstein.
President Eric welcomed 3 new members of our Rotary: Robert Smith, George Harmon and Alison Werthheimer. Welcome to Rotary!
The guest speaker was Judge Shelly Harris, Chief Judge of the 2nd District of the Appellate Court of Illinois. Illinois has 6 districts of appellate judges throughout the state. Judge Harris had been a trial attorney for 30 years before being appointed to the bench. During his practice he did legal work for the Legal Aid Bureau of Chicago representing people with personal injury and asbestos claims. At the appellate level, decisions are made by panels of 3 judges. The appellate courts reverse about 1/3 of the lower court decisions that come before them. He has written well over 140 decisions. One of these decisions was the recent decision that felons cannot own guns. He was also on the panel that decided Crain v. Admiral Ins. Co. where the court required an excess insurance carrier in an asbestos case to pay approximately 500 million dollars of claims that it had contracted to pay. When asked about the impact of getting rid of the 2nd Amendment, the Judge said that would not happen but that the states should have the right to place reasonable restrictions on gun ownership and usage.
Thank you to everyone who made our 4th Annual Kids Against Hunger project a great success! Check out this great vide by the Sun Times:
We are so grateful to our Event Sponsors who help cover the cost of bulk food, packaging materials and transportation. Let us know if you or your company will become a sponsor.
The guest speaker was Judge Shelly Harris, Chief Judge of the 2nd District of the Appellate Court of Illinois. Illinois has 6 districts of appellate judges throughout the state. Judge Harris had been a trial attorney for 30 years before being appointed to the bench. During his practice he did legal work for the Legal Aid Bureau of Chicago representing people with personal injury and asbestos claims. At the appellate level, decisions are made by panels of 3 judges. The appellate courts reverse about 1/3 of the lower court decisions that come before them. He has written well over 140 decisions. One of these decisions was the recent decision that felons cannot own guns. He was also on the panel that decided Crain v. Admiral Ins. Co. where the court required an excess insurance carrier in an asbestos case to pay approximately 500 million dollars of claims that it had contracted to pay. When asked about the impact of getting rid of the 2nd Amendment, the Judge said that would not happen but that the states should have the right to place reasonable restrictions on gun ownership and usage.
