Tamika was a high school dropout who figured her options looked just like those of many in her neighborhood—the drug dealers, gang members and prostitutes. April was a young mom who lost custody of her children and, like Tamika, also found herself jobless and homeless.
When there’s no place to call home, many young adults are discovering there still is a place for hope. The Night Ministry, named for what was perceived to be the loneliest time for the homeless, has been serving the community for nearly 40 years with housing, healthcare and practical resources.
Through the patient encouragement of The Night Ministry staff, both Tamika and April began developing new visions of themselves and new versions of what they could do with their lives. Now Tamika is a married homeowner with a little girl, a GED and a full-time job, and she’s taking steps to become a paralegal. April has her kids back, runs her own business from her new apartment and is working on a bachelor’s degree.
With success stories like these, it’s easy to see why Women Helping Women has chosen to shine a light on The Night Ministry at its Spring Mix-and-Mingle on Thursday, April 30, at Lloyd’s Chicago.
Hosted biannually by the women attorneys at Chuhak & Tecson, Women Helping Women is an after-hours networking group partnering wine and hors d’oeuvres with business development and philanthropy. Each mixer features a different not for profit organization serving women, or women and their children, and participants are asked to select from a wish list to help support the organization’s work.
With nearly 10,000 youth and young adults homeless in Chicago each year, The Night Ministry meets an array of basic needs. A Health Outreach bus offers free medical services in six neighborhoods, a Youth Outreach van provides food, counsel and relationship, and the agency’s four shelters offer programs ranging from emergency overnights to two-year commitments.
“The Night Ministry is vital to Chicago because it provides a safety net of social services that are absolutely life-saving,” said Stacy Massey, communications and media relations coordinator. “We have to remember how important it is to have a safe place to sleep and enough food to eat, because if you don’t have those things, you can’t access education either.”
Loretto Kennedy, a principal at Chuhak & Tecson, had previously worked with The Night Ministry in projects sponsored by her church and the Girl Scout troop she leads.
“This is a top-notch organization with many different facets, and they do each of them extremely well,” Kennedy said. “The particular outreach we’re going to be supporting at our Mix-and-Mingle is an interim program for young people who have not had the benefit of a stable home life and often find themselves without resources to meet their day-to-day needs.
“The Night Ministry reaches out to them on many levels—food, hygiene and shelter—but also reaches out on moving forward in a more purposeful, positive direction,” she said.
Massey said the organization is the only one in Chicago that reserves beds for pregnant teenagers, and it tries to be pragmatic in meeting young people where they are. Most of their clients are 18 to 24 years old, though some are as young as 13.
“Not everyone who comes to our overnight shelter, for example, is big on following a lot of rules,” she said, “so we have a realistic approach to addressing that concern. We look at how we can make the situation better for everyone, because everyone wins when young people don’t become chronically homeless.”
Last year, The Night Ministry touched the lives of nearly 5,000 young people through its various programs, Massey said, and celebrated with 147 who left to move into stable housing of their own.
Now beginning its sixth year, Women Helping Women has grown so much that Lloyd’s Chicago is once again being reserved in its entirety for the evening.
“We have people who were with us at the first event who still continue to come,” Kennedy said. “I think that speaks volumes for the benefits they receive and the quality of the people they’re meeting here. Our past guests are reaching out to bring other colleagues into the Women Helping Women network, and the professions and market niches that are represented keep expanding event after event.”
Attendees to the April 30 mixer are encouraged to bring donations of men’s or women’s underwear, deodorant, twin-size sheets or blankets, bath towels, coffee or flatware to help meet a variety of ongoing needs at The Night Ministry. The agency’s Amazon Wish List also includes specific clothing items, Blu-Ray disc players, NutriBullet blender/mixers and Play Station 4 consoles and controllers.
The Spring Mix-and-Mingle will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at 1 S. Wacker Dr. If you would like to receive an invitation, please contact Jane LaGrassa at 312-201-3447 or jlagrassa@chuhak.com.
Click here to read the winter 2015 edition of The Bottom Line, an employment law newsletter by Chuhak & Tecson Principal, Ryan Haas.
Click here to read Bloomberg’s Bulletin, a newsletter featuring Illinois legislation amending the Illinois Condominium Property Act by Chuhak & Tecson Principal Steven Bloomberg.
Ronald N. Primack, an established entrepreneurial attorney, recently joined Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. in an Of Counsel position.
With a client list that includes Fortune 500 corporations and multinational conglomerates, Primack successfully operated his own law firm in Tinley Park for nearly 30 years. As a Chuhak & Tecson attorney, he now serves clients from two locations—both Chicago and Tinley Park.
Primack’s expansive practice is built largely on representing individuals, business owners and financial institutions in banking, business law, real estate transactions, and commercial and civil litigation in both state and federal court. Joining Chuhak & Tecson allows him to maintain his commitment to excellent client service through the increased efficiency, expanded technology and other amenities inherent in a larger firm.
“Aligning with Chuhak & Tecson provides greater resources both for me and for my clients,” Primack said.
“This firm has a deep bench of very skilled and qualified lawyers in every single one of my practice areas. I had the opportunity to affiliate with other firms, but I chose to join Chuhak,” he said. “As a midsize firm, it’s a good fit for my clients.”
Mark Broaddus, a Principal at Chuhak & Tecson, has enjoyed a longstanding professional relationship with Primack, both as co-counsel and as an opponent.
“Ron has a very diversified and sophisticated general practice,” Broaddus said. “He’s an experienced entrepreneur who has built his practice from the ground up. His emphasis on client services is a perfect match with Chuhak & Tecson’s "Right there with you" commitment to our clients.
“Joining Chuhak gives Ron the opportunity to expand and grow his existing business relationships and serve his clients in a way that is still competitively priced,” Broaddus said.
“The firm benefits as well. Having Ron on our legal team introduces us in the southwest suburbs with an already established presence. We’re excited about the opportunity to build on our own current and future relationships there.”
A law school graduate of DePaul University, Primack forged a sturdy work ethic in the steel mills and construction sites of Gary, Ind., where he worked long enough to realize his ambitions lay elsewhere. The jobs he held there continue to inform his career today.
“Having done those things gives me a good point of reference in working with my clients,” Primack said. “If there’s an operational question or a manufacturing question, I can relate it back to my steel mill experience. If there is a question on mechanic’s liens, I can relate it back to my construction experience.”
As a litigator, Primack represents clients in a diverse array of commercial and civil cases, including construction matters as well as business and consumer litigation; breaches of contract; shareholder disputes; insurance claims; property damage; property rights; probate and others.
Two cases he won on appeal in the Illinois First District produced published decisions.
Primack also handles transactional matters related to banking, business, real estate, estate planning, probate and municipal law. He has considerable experience helping clients start their own businesses, giving counsel on business entity formation, potential liability, tax structures, insurance coverage, employment matters, succession strategies and corporate compliance issues.
His extensive municipal experience includes significant work for the Village of Lansing and an area park district, which he represented for more than 25 years.
On November 13, the women attorneys of Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. hosted their fall Women Helping Women event—at Lloyd’s Chicago. Despite frigid temperatures, over 170 women were in attendance to support a worthy cause.
Women Helping Women (WHW) is a networking group for women business leaders and entrepreneurs to mingle, build business and support a not-for-profit organization benefiting women or women and their children.
Upon entering the event, guests were greeted with refreshments and decorations that reflected this evening’s event partner, Concordia Place. Chicken tenders, pigs-in-a-blanket and bite-sized peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, along with centerpieces containing markers and Play-Doh, paid homage to the Concordia Place’s award-winning childhood, after-school and summer camp programs which helped to serve 750 families and individuals in 2013.
“Concordia Place was overwhelmed by the generosity and energy of all the inspiring women who were part of the event,” said Brenda Swartz, president and CEO of Concordia Place. “Our focus is on the growth and opportunity of all those we serve and it was evident by those in attendance they wanted to help make a difference in those lives.”
The donations collected for Concordia Place included over 500 craft and gardening supplies and over $650, all of which will help support its pre-school, after-school and teen Sprouting Out programs.
In addition to these donations, guests purchased over 75 items from Concordia Place’s Sprouting Out program. The program uses teen-grown herbs and botanicals as ingredients in handcrafted products, including olive oil soaps, soothing shea and lip balms, deodorants and healing salve—all of which were available for purchase at the event.
As a part of the program’s buy-one-give-one initiative, Concordia Place matches each purchase with a gift of the same product to The Night Ministry, an organization which offers housing, healthcare and human connection to members of the Chicago community struggling with poverty or homelessness.
For information on Concordia Place or the Sprouting Out program, visit concordiaplace.org. For information on Chuhak & Tecson’s spring WHW event or to request an invitation, contact Brittany LaMantia at blamantia@chuhak.com.
Click here to read the fall 2014 edition of The Bottom Line, an employment law newsletter by Chuhak & Tecson Principal, Ryan Haas.
Loretto Kennedy, a principal with Chuhak & Tecson, P.C., will serve as a keynote speaker for Congressman Rodney Davis’ women’s conference titled “Investing in Women” on Saturday, July 19. The free program is dedicated to helping women connect with each other and achieve success personally and professionally.
The conference will take place at the I-Hotel, located on the University of Illinois campus, with the keynote session scheduled from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Other keynote speakers include Congresswoman Susan Brooks, representative for the 5th District of Indiana; Cynthia Bruno, morning news anchor for WCIA-3; and Phyllis Wise, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The conference will showcase how women help drive the success of the nation. According to Davis, who represents the 13th District of Illinois, more than half of the 72 million women in the workforce are primary income earners and are also starting two of every three new businesses. Nearly 50 percent of women make the majority of financial decisions for their home, while 85 percent make all family healthcare decisions.
“This event is about helping women connect and invest in each other through shared stories of finding and embracing their passions, overcoming life’s challenges and achieving success in their various fields,” Davis said.
Kennedy, who focuses her practice on litigation, as well as helping corporations and startups with business planning, risk management, corporate formation and contract negotiation, is a staunch supporter of women’s leadership and empowerment. She is a founding member of Chuhak & Tecson’s Women Helping Women initiative, which integrates business development, networking and philanthropy into events that benefit not only the attendees, but the Chicagoland community as well.
Investing in Women
Saturday, July 19, 2014
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
I-Hotel, University of Illinois
1900 S. 1st Street
Champaign, IL 61820
For the third year in a row, attorneys and staff at Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. will participate in the Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Day, an annual volunteer project that serves underprivileged families, women and children across Chicagoland. Sponsored by nine local women’s bar associations, WE is partnering with nearly 30 agencies that will benefit from this year’s day of service.
Through WE, firm employees are serving the not for profit organization Good News Partners, Inc. which offers affordable housing to those in need. Coordinated by Chuhak & Tecson principal Eileen Sethna, the June 13 event invites volunteers to partake in an afternoon of painting, cleaning and organizing at several of Good News Partners’ 10 housing facilities.
Good News Partners’ mission focuses on ending homelessness and hopelessness for everyone that comes through its doors. The organization is dedicated to securing short-term or permanent housing and providing a community of healing, support and care for its residents through partnerships with local churches and businesses.
WE serves as a volunteer collective in the Chicagoland area aimed at soliciting and coordinating volunteer activities on behalf of women and children in need. Since its inception in 2003, the WE Project has also facilitated an education program that stresses women’s equality in employment and voting. To learn more, visit Women Everywhere.