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OPG in the News

On April 6, 2011, CBS 2 Investigators brought to light the plight of an elderly Chicago Sun-Times sweepstakes winner represented by the Public Guardian's Office. In 1996, the 76-year-old ward, who suffers from Alzhemier's, won $1 million, which helped pay for her home caretaker. She was to receive $40,000 a year for 25 years. However, when the Sun-Times went bankrupt, she stopped receiving the payments. Charles Golbert, Deputy Public Guardian in the Adult Guardianship Division, is quoted in the article.

For full text of April 6 article click here

On April 3, 2011, the Chicago Tribune published an article following up on "Baby Tamia," a 2004 child welfare case that prompted legislation that became the Illinois Adoption Reform Act of 2005. Kim Barnes, Lead Attorney in the Juvenile Division and who represented Baby Tamia, is quoted in the article.

For full text of April 3 article click here

On February 13 and 14, 2011, the Chicago Tribune published articles detailing three cases of alleged financial exploitation of elderly Chicagoans. In the articles, the Tribune highlighted the Public Guardian's role in investigating these transactions and bringing the alleged exploitation to light. The articles report that a law firm allegedly drew up legal documents that assisted caretakers and an Archdiocese of Chicago priest in taking advantage of the financial assets of disabled elderly women. The Public Guardian has already recovered a settlement in one case, and has been appointed to represent one of the other alleged victims to safeguard her assets.

For full text of February 13 article click here
For full text of February 14 article click here

Staff Accomplishments and Recognitions

On November 12, 2011, Reclaim a Youth (RAY) of Illinois celebrated its 20th Anniversary and honored Robert F. Harris, Cook County Public Guardian, and Kelley Thornton, First Assistant Deputy Public Guardian, at their Anniversary Gala.   Robert received the 2011 Lifetime Achievement award, while Kelley received the 2011 Outstanding Humanitarian of the Year Award and gave remarks on the topic of “Youth and Leadership.”  RAY of Illinois has granted over $200,000 in awards and scholarships since 1993; this year’s scholarship recipients included several clients of the Office of the Public Guardian.

Alpa Patel, Attorney in the Adult Guardianship Division, received the Public Interest Award from her alma mater, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, at its annual Public Interest Convocation on October 26, 2011. With this award, Loyola honored Alpa for her accomplishments as a public interest attorney and her commitment to justice for those less fortunate. The award acknowledged Alpa's work on behalf of the Office of the Public Guardian, as well as her service on the board of two not-for-profits: Our Community of Illinois and Apna Ghar (Our Home). After receiving the award, Alpa spoke about the work of the Office of the Public Guardian, and about the meaning one finds from work that serves people who otherwise would not have a voice.

Wendy Cappelletto, Supervising Attorney in the Adult Guardianship Division, was selected as one of only 75 attorneys in the country invited as a delegate to the Wingspan Symposium to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah in October 2011. The Wingspan Symposium is a national body that meets every ten years to study issues affecting guardianship, aging and the law. The body issues recommendations and publishes its findings. The last Symposium in 2001 produced influential papers that have had lasting impact, particularly in the areas of national standards for guardianship practice and certification for guardians. One example of the impact of the last Wingspan Symposium is legislation passed in Illinois and other states requiring that certain public guardians be certified.

Charles Golbert, Deputy Public Guardian in the Adult Guardianship Division, has published two articles in the NAELA Journal, a publication of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. In NAELA's Fall 2010 issue, Charles authored an article titled "Health Care Surrogate Decision Making and Bioethics: Case Studies from the Files of the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian," on bioethics and health surrogate decision making using three case studies from the Office of the Public Guardian to illustrate points. Second, in NAELA's Spring 2011 issue, Charles published "Health Care Regulations," on the new nursing home regulations in the Affordable Care Act.

For full text of "Health Care Surrogate Decision Making and Bioethics" click here
For full text of "Health Care Regulations" click here

The Downstate Illinois Innocence Project presented its Profiles in Courage Award to Mary Brigid Hayes, Attorney in the Appeals Unit. Because of her belief that Rolando Cruz had not received a fair trial, Mary resigned her position as an Assistant Illinois Attorney General rather than ask the Illinois Supreme Court to affirm Cruz's conviction for the 1983 murder of Jeanine Nicarico. Cruz had not been allowed to present evidence corroborating Brian Dugan's confession that Dugan alone killed Nicarico. Cruz eventually won a new trial and acquittal; Dugan plead guilty to the Nicarico murder in 2009.

Kass A. Plain, Supervising Attorney in the Appeals Unit, served as a Director of the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association (ALA) from 2009 through June 2011. The ALA is an association of over 350 lawyers who practice in the Illinois State and Federal courts of review. The ALA sponsors monthly presentations on topics such as appellate brief writing, oral arguments and ethics. In addition, Justices of the Illinois Appellate and Supreme Courts, and Seventh Circuit judges have spoken at monthly meetings on a variety of topics. As a Director, Kass assisted with membership, programming, and helped edit the ALA Guide to Illinois Civil Appellate Procedure. Kass is now working on the ALA Membership Committee.

For more information on ALA click here

OPG attorneys and staff Robert F. Harris, Charles Golbert, Mary Hayes, Kass Plain, Danielle Gomez, Nick Youngblood, Dr. Mark Ruhl, Carol Casey, and Susan Wigoda filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in Camreta v. Greene on December 16, 2010. The Supreme Court ruled on the case on May 26, 2011.

For full text of the amicus brief click here