Jordan Andrew is Deputy General Counsel at the Illinois State Board of Elections, in Springfield. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, and she received her B.A. from Illinois College and her J.D. from SIU School of Law.
Donald M. Craven is Partner at Craven & Craven, in Springfield, where he focuses his practice on media and municipal law. Craven is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Press Association, and the Illinois Broadcasters’ Association. He received his B.A. from St. Olaf College and his J.D. from SIU.
Lari A. Dierks is an associate at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in Chicago, where she focuses her practice on white collar and financial regulatory enforcement defense as well as election law. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association’s Election Law Committee and the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. Ms. Dierks received her B.A. from Southern Illinois University and her J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Michael C. Dorf is the Managing Member at The Law Offices of Michael C. Dorf, LLC, in Skokie where he concentrates in election law. He coauthored CLEAR IT WITH SID: SIDNEY R. YATES AND 50 YEARS OF PRESIDENTS, PRAGMATISM, AND PUBLIC SERVICE (2019) with George Van Dusen. He is an adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Election Law Committee. Dorf received his B.A. from the University of Chicago and his J.D. from the School of Law of Columbia University.
John G. Fogarty, Jr., is Principal at the Law Office of John Fogarty, Jr., in Chicago, and focuses his practice on election and political law. Fogarty is a Past Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Election Law Committee and a member of the Illinois State Bar Association. Fogarty received his B.S. from Northwestern University and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Brian M. Funk is a Partner at IFMK Law, Ltd., in O’Fallon, and manages the firm’s Southern Illinois office located in the St. Louis Metro East area. Funk received his B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his J.D. from the St. Louis University School of Law, and his LL.M. with honors in real estate law from The UIC John Marshall Law School.
Laura Jacksack, of Jacksack Law Offices, in Chicago, focuses her practice on election law. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and previous chair of its Election Law Committee. Jacksack is also a registered Parliamentarian with the National Association of Parliamentarians and a member of the Illinois State Bar Association. She received her J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law at Urbana-Champaign and her B.A. from Northwestern University.
Anthony J. Jacob is a Partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in Chicago, where he concentrates in business law, tax-exempt/not-for-profit law, and election law, including representing various types of political committees. He is a member of the Chicago and Illinois State Bar Associations. Jacob received his B.A. from Northern Illinois University and his J.D. and LL.M. in taxation and employee benefits from The UIC John Marshall Law School.
Thomas A. Jaconetty is a sole practitioner in Chicago. He is a member of the Chicago, Illinois State, and American Bar Associations, the Justinian Society of Lawyers, and the Advocates Society. Jaconetty has participated in 32 Chicago Bar Association Election Law Seminars, served as Chair of its Election Law Committee three times, and lectured at UIC-John Marshall Law School on ballot access and the “Suffrage and Elections” article of the Illinois Constitution. He has practiced before electoral boards and in the Illinois courts for nearly 45 years, counseled electoral boards, and been appointed several times as Chair or public member on such suburban Cook County boards. He often serves as judge in Julius Miner and First-Year Moot Court competitions at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and for the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Program and on the boards for Regina Dominican High School and the Weber High School Alumni Association. Jaconetty received his B.A. summa cum laude from Loyola University of Chicago and his J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Michael J. Kasper is a Partner at Kasper & Nottage, P.C., in Chicago, where he concentrates in constitutional, election, and voting rights law. He has been an adjunct professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Loyola University School of Law, and The UIC John Marshall School of Law, and he has served as General Counsel and Treasurer of the Democratic Party of Illinois for over 20 years. Kasper received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Michael A. Kraft is a Partner with Quinn, Johnston, Henderson, Pretorius & Cerulo in Peoria, where his practice focuses on commercial and real estate litigation and transactions, corporate and tax matters, and estate planning and litigation. He is a former faculty member of Illinois Central College, where he taught business law. Mr. Kraft is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and has been a member of several Peoria County Bar Association committees. He was previously a board member and secretary for the Central Illinois Alzheimer’s Association for eight years. He received his B.A. from the University of Illinois, Phi Beta Kappa, and received his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Keri-Lyn J. Krafthefer is an Equity Partner at Ancel Glink, P.C., in Naperville, where she focuses on local government law and election law. Illinois Super Lawyers named her one of the Top 50 Female Attorneys in the State of Illinois, and Leading Lawyers Magazine named her one of the top ten leading women lawyers in government, municipal, lobbying, and administrative law. Krafthefer has been named as a Super Lawyer representing cities and villages for every year that such distinction has been awarded. She received her B.A. from the University of Illinois and her J.D. from The UIC John Marshall Law School.
Adam W. Lasker is the Managing Member at Lasker Law LLC, in Chicago, where he focuses on election law and government administration. He is General Counsel to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and the Association of Election Commission Officials of Illinois (AECOI) and Past Chair and current member of the Chicago Bar Association’s Election Law Committee. Lasker received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School.
Ed Mullen is owner of Mullen Law Firm, in Chicago, and concentrates his practices in election and government law. He received his J.D. with highest honors from George Washington University Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review, and his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Tiffany Nelson-Jaworski is a senior counsel at Del Galdo Law Group, LLC, in Berwyn, where she focuses on election, municipal, park district, township, library, and labor and employment law. She has been named an Emerging Lawyer by the Illinois Leading Lawyers Division of the Law Bulletin Publishing Company, and she has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Election Law Committee. Nelson-Jaworski received her B.A. with high honors from the Illinois Institute of Technology and her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Noah Praetz is President and Cofounder of The Elections Group, in Burr Ridge, and concentrates on election administration and policy. He is adjunct faculty at DePaul University College of Law, a lecturer at the University of Chicago, and a National Association of Election Officials (Election Center) Hall of Fame Member. Praetz received his B.A. from Bradley University and his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.
Ellen K. Raymond is a sole practitioner in Western Springs, concentrating in election law (candidates and referenda), real estate, zoning/land use litigation, TIF challenges, FOIA disclosure prosecution, and Open Meetings Act compliance. She serves as a City of Chicago Board of Election Commissioners Hearing Officer and is on the advisory board of the Citizen Advocacy Center (CAC) in Elmhurst. She is a recipient of the CAC’s Citizen Initiative Award for her efforts in the drafting, circulating, and passage of a citizen-initiated referendum creating a township park. Save the Timber, a not-for-profit corporation where she serves as president, received the International Society of Arboriculture’s Gold Leaf Award for the same efforts. Raymond received her B.S. from the University of Illinois and her J.D. cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Ross D. Secler is a Partner at Odelson, Murphey, Frazier, & McGrath, Ltd., in Evergreen Park, and focuses his practice on elections and local government. Secler has been Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Election Law Committee (2017 – 2018, 2023 – 2024). He was chosen as a 40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer Magazine (2020) and was honored by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star (2018 – 2024). He is also the author of Is the Party Over? You Don’t Have to Go Home, But you Can’t Stay Here: Political Party Affiliation, Trends, and Requirements After Patton v. Illinois State Board of Election for The John Marshall Law Review. Secler received his B.A. cum laude from Colgate University and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
M. Neal Smith is a Partner at Robbins Schwartz in Lisle and Rockford, where he concentrates his practice on commercial law, construction law, litigation, municipal law, real estate development, zoning and planning, and land use. He is a member of the American, Chicago, and Illinois Bar Associations. Mr. Smith received his B.A. from Hampden-Sydney College and his J.D. cum laude from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
M. Neal Smith, Jr., is a Partner at Robbins Schwartz in Lisle and Rockford, where he concentrates his practice on commercial law, construction law, litigation, municipal law, real estate development, zoning, and planning and land use. He is a member of the American, Chicago, and Illinois Bar Associations. Mr. Smith received his B.A. from Hampden-Sydney College and his J.D. cum laude from Northern Illinois University College of Law.
James G. Wargo is Of counsel at IFMK Law, Ltd., in Northbrook, where he concentrates in local government law and general litigation. Wargo received his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.
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