Road trip? IJF/IBF Legal Luminary Reception in Springfield May 16

The Illinois Bar Foundation and the Illinois Judicial Foundation will co-host a Legal Luminary Reception on Tuesday, May 16, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the Illinois State Library, 300 S. 2nd Street, Springfield. Proceeds of the event will benefit the educational, scholarship, legal aid and lawyer assistance programs funded by the IJF and IBF across the State.

Two sets of luminaries will be honored at this year's event, the 2020 honorees (something about a global pandemic...) and the class of 2023. The honorees are:

2020 Luminaries

• Hon. Andreas Matoesian, Ret., Circuit Court of Madison County
• Hon. Ilana Diamond Rovner, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Richard L. Thies, Webber & Thies, P.C. (awarded posthumously)

2023 Luminaries:

• Hon. Rita B. Garman, Ret., Illinois Supreme Court
• James D. Montgomery, James D. Montgomery & Associates
• Hon. Milton S. Wharton, Ret., Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court

Attendees will be able to participate in an optional CLE presentation preceding the reception at the State Library, from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m., co-sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association. The CLE will be complimentary for those purchasing tickets or sponsorships for the reception. The topic will be "The 'Independent State Legislature' -- Potential Impacts on American Constitutional Democracy," and the presenter will be Vikram Amar, Dean and Iwan Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

And, at the risk of sounding like a Ginsu Knives commercial, wait, there's more: Ticketholders can also participate in complimentary Supreme Court Building tours beginning at 4:00 or 4:30 p.m. These approximate 30-minute tours will be led by John Lupton, the Executive Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Preservation. Tours are limited to 25 people each and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

To book either (or both) the tour and the CLE, be sure to click-on the appropriate add-ons when purchasing tickets. Tickets are $75 each and (wouldn't you know it) sponsorships are also available (Friend - $250, Patron - $500, Pillar Sponsor - $1,500, or Presenting Sponsor - $3,000). Each successive sponsorship level comes with increasingly elaborate benefits, all of which -- tickets, CLE and tour add-ons, and sponsorships -- may be found at this page of the Illinois Bar Foundation website.

Persons making the trip from the Chicago area should also note that a limited block of rooms has been reserved for this event at the Wyndham Springfield City Centre Hotel in downtown Springfield, a three-minute drive or eight-minute walk away from the State Library, according to event sponsors. The room price is $85 plus tax for the night of May 16. The deadline for reservations using this discount is May 2. Click here for hotel reservations.