CBA Record January 2018

PRESIDENT’S PAGE BY JUDGE THOMAS R. MULROY A Roma

The Chicago Bar Association www.chicagobar.org OFFICERS President Judge Thomas R. Mulroy Circuit Court of Cook County First Vice President Steven M. Elrod Holland & Knight LLP Second Vice President Jesse H. Ruiz Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP Secretary E. Lynn Grayson Nijman Franzetti LLP Treasurer Executive Director Terrence M. Murphy Assistant Executive Director Elizabeth A. McMeen BOARD OF MANAGERS Jonathan B. Amarilio Alan R. Borlack Judge Thomas M. Durkin Mark B. Epstein Judge Shelvin Louise Marie Hall Robert F. Harris Maurice Grant Grant Law LLC

dressed in black with long hair. It is Befana who brings the gifts to the Roman children who have written her notes so she knows whether they have been naughty or nice. As the story goes, at the first Christmas the Three Kings traveled through Italy on their way to Bethlehem to visit Jesus on his birthday. They stopped at Befana’s hut, asked her for directions to Bethlehem and invited her to join their caravan. She refused; she said she was too busy sweep- ing her cottage and, besides, she had never heard of this Bethlehem. When the Three Kings and their convoy went away, imme- diately Befana became regretful. She had always loved children and now she was sorry she did not go with the Kings to visit this special child. Suddenly, she decided to follow the Kings, visit Jesus and bring him a gift. Off she flew on her broom with a sack of presents. But, sadly and predictably Befana became lost and never found the Baby she sought. However, Befana has not given up and still searches for baby Jesus each Christmas. When she flies to a house where a child lives, she looks in to see if it is Jesus. Of course it is not, but Befana leaves the child a gift anyway. The moral is, the baby Jesus can be found in all children. There are a thousand stories like this in Rome. Rome was founded on the Palatine Hill in 800 BC and became the center of the Roman Empire and the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful city in the Western world. During the 15 th century Italian Renaissance, extravagant churches, bridges, and public spaces were built which made Rome the center of Baroque architecture and home to artists like Michelangelo, Bernini and Caravaggio. Today Rome is piazzas, open-air mar- kets, and astounding historic sites. Toss three coins in the Trevi Fountain, sample a perfect espresso or gelato while looking at a

To penetrate into Italy is like a most fas- cinating act of self-discovery-back, back down the old ways of time. Strange and wonderful chords awake in us, and vibrate again after many hundreds of years of com- plete forgetfulness. (D.H. Lawrence. Sea and Sardinia. A travel book. 1923) A h, eternal. The Chicago Bar Asso- ciation is going to Rome on April 16-19, 2018. You really must come along and visit its unforgettable sites. Take a tour by night and see the city at its most dramatic; participate in a cooking class to wow your friends when you return home; and luxuriate in a Villa in the beautiful Borghese Gardens high above Rome. Hang out with your friends, drink a little red wine, eat some Italian food and sit by a fountain that looks like a sinking ship at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. Be a part of the fun; see the sights; experience the people watching; and, of course, learn from the CLE. Rome is a city of stories and legends like that of La Befana. At Christmas time, Romans display La Befana, a witch flying on her broom. She is very, very old and

Michele M. Jochner Michael J. Kaufman Daniel M. Kotin Pamela S. Menaker Paul J. Ochmanek, Jr. Matthew A. Passen Mary Robinson John C. Sciaccotta Helene M. Snyder Andrew W. Vail Greta G. Weathersby Zeophus J. Wiliams

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