Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Reception: 11:30AM – 12:00PM
Lunch: 12:00 PM – 1:30PM
Lunch will be served.
Union League Club
65 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
Please join the Federal Bar Association’s Chicago Chapter for the election and installation of its 2023-2024 officers and directors. This popular annual event hosts federal judges and hundreds of practitioners from Chicago and surrounding communities.
Mayor Brandon Johnson will provide welcome remarks and the Hon. Diane S. Sykes, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, will give the annual keynote address.
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM – Reception
12:00 PM – 12:10 PM – Welcome Remarks from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
Welcome & Introduction by outgoing FBA Chapter President Noelle Brennan
Election & Installation of FBA Chicago Chapter Officers
Installation of Board Members
Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Keynote Speech from the Honorable Diane S. Sykes
Closing Remarks and Adjournment of Annual Meeting and Installation LuncheonWelcome Remarks
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Brandon Johnson was sworn in as the 57th Mayor of the City of Chicago on May 15, 2023.
Mayor Johnson began his career as a public school teacher, first at Jenner Academy in Cabrini-Green and then at Westinghouse College Prep on the West Side, where he experienced firsthand how school closures, unemployment and gun violence impacted his students and their communities. He then went on to become an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, where he led multi-racial coalitions to defend neighborhood schools from privatization, reduce high stakes standardized testing and expand access to state funding.
In 2018, Mayor Johnson was elected Commissioner of the 1st District of Cook County where he led the effort to pass the Just Housing Ordinance, which prohibited housing discrimination against formerly incarcerated people. As commissioner, he also collaborated with colleagues to eliminate the gang database, secure legal representation for immigrants facing deportation and advance recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In the wake of civil uprisings in the summer of 2020, he organized the Cook County Board to commit to the “Budget for Black Lives,” bringing new investments in health care, public transportation, internet access, and affordable housing.
Mayor Johnson and his wife Stacie live in the Austin community, where they are raising their children Owen, Ethan, and Braedyn.
Keynote Speaker
Chief Judge Diane S. Sykes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Chief Judge Sykes was nominated to the Seventh Circuit by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2004. She became chief judge on July 4, 2020. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, she served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. She previously practiced law in Milwaukee and was a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Terence Evans. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1980 and a law degree from Marquette Law School in 1984. Between college and law school, she was a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal.