August 11, 2026
ACS Chicago Lawyer Chapter Honors Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice, Local Legal Leaders for Contributions to Progressive Causes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy Rodriguez media@acslaw.org
CHICAGO — Seven area attorneys, including Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Scott Neville Jr., were honored August 11 by the American Constitution Society’s (ACS) Chicago Lawyer Chapter at its 21st Annual Legal Legends Luncheon for their impact on Chicago and its legal community.
"We are honored to recognize this extraordinary group of legal leaders whose careers reflect the very best of our profession," said Rebecca Sundin, Director of the Legal Legends Luncheon. "Each of this year's honorees has strengthened our legal institutions through integrity, courage, scholarship, advocacy, and public service. Together, they join more than two decades of Legal Legends whose work continues to advance the rule of law, equal justice, and our constitutional democracy."
Nearly 200 attendees joined to celebrate the honorees at the Union League Club.
During his keynote remarks ACS President Phil Brest spoke on the importance of Justice Department independence: “No student of history, no lawyer, no concerned citizen, no patriot, should want a Department of Justice that betrays the equal protection of the law…that plays favorites when it comes to colossal corporate mergers or sweetheart plea deals…that targets one political party’s perceived enemies…or absolves the President and his family of legal liability.”
Four of the attorneys honored at the luncheon received the Abner J. Mikva Award named in honor of the late Hon. Abner J. Mikva, a former congressman, federal judge, White House legal counsel and law professor who was instrumental in ACS’s creation. The award recognizes Chicago-area lawyers and judges who have made extraordinary contributions to progressive legal causes.
The 2026 Abner J. Mikva Award recipients are:
- Rubén Castillo, Mediator, FEDARB; U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Illinois (retired)
- Cara Hendrickson, Executive Deputy Attorney General, Illinois Attorney General's Office
- Alison Siegler, Lillian E. Kraemer Clinical Professor in Public Interest Law, Director of the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic, The University of Chicago Law School
- P. Scott Neville Jr., Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Illinois
The ACS Chicago Lawyer Chapter also presented the 2026 Ruth Goldman Award at the luncheon. The award recognizes Chicago-area women who have made significant contributions to advance the status of women and the goals of ACS, and is named in honor of the late Ruth Goldman, who was pivotal to the founding of the Chicago Lawyer Chapter and one of the driving forces behind the first luncheon. She was a partner at the firm now known as Miller Shakman, and a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Department of the Jewish Family and Community Services.
The 2026 Ruth Goldman Award recipients are:
- Kate Walz, Complex Litigation and Advocacy Director, Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
- Vanessa del Valle, Partner, Kaplan & Grady LLC
The chapter also presented the Geoffrey R. Stone Award during the event. The award recognizes progressive scholars who demonstrate those qualities exemplified by Professor Geoffrey R. Stone: scholarly excellence, the ability to imagine how society might be more just and more equal, and the determination to use the law and one’s scholarship to creatively and strategically make the imagined real.
The 2026 Geoffrey R. Stone Award recipient is:
- Beth E. Richie, Chair, Presidential Humanities and Social Sciences; Distinguished Professor of Criminology, Law and Justice and Black Studies; The University of Illinois at Chicago.
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AMERICAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY
The American Constitution Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan legal organization. Through a diverse nationwide network of progressive lawyers, law students, judges, scholars, advocates, and many others, our mission is to support and advocate for laws and legal systems that redress the founding failures of our Constitution, strengthen our democratic legitimacy, uphold the rule of law, and realize the promise of equality for all, including people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and other historically excluded communities. For more information, visit us at www.acslaw.org.