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'A giant' in history of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association dies

Back in 1960, four local attorneys would meet at a local restaurant, hashing out ideas about starting a suburban bar association.

Initially, they envisioned it as a support network, but as the years went on, it evolved into a lobbying group driven to making justice more accessible to residents living and working in the Northwest suburbs.

At 90 years old, Donald Norman was the last surviving member of that historic group of lawyers. He passed away on June 8.

Norman was honored in 2010, on the 50th anniversary of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association, which now has more than 650 attorneys. Norman was given the Founder's Award and recognized for his pivotal role in the group's founding.

“(Norman) was a giant to us young lawyers,” says Ernest Blomquist, Arlington Heights village prosecutor. “He was the senior member, a mentor, who everyone turned to at the time. He was great at making friends, and he knew everyone, all the judges and local attorneys.”

Norman began his legal career as a staff attorney and legal affairs manager for Ryerson Steel Company, before opening his own practice in Arlington Heights, where he practiced until 1990.

In his early years of his practice, Norman served as village prosecutor for Wheeling, Buffalo Grove and on a stand-in basis for Arlington Heights.

When the Northwest Suburban Bar Association formed, the first meeting drew 24 attorneys. Norman was elected board secretary, a position he held for the next 10 years.

Norman also became involved in local politics. He was the Wheeling Township Democratic Committeeman from 1973 to 1982, working behind the scenes to help identify candidates and advance their campaigns.

But supporting the Northwest suburban legal community was never far from his thoughts, colleagues add.

“He was always a suburban practitioner, at a time when everyone was practicing downtown,” says Ron Wittmeyer, incoming president of the NWSBA. “He worked to get more access to the courts and bring more practitioners out here.”

Specifically, NWSBA officials say Cook County's Third Municipal District Courthouse in Rolling Meadows is part of Norman's legacy. Groundbreaking for the facility took place in 1986, and members of the bar association were on hand for its dedication in 1989.

“It wouldn't have happened without the push and pull of people like Don Norman and others like him who used their political forces to make it happen,” said Blomquist, who was NWSBA president during 1986.

Bill Kelley, current NWSBA president and a Schaumburg attorney, says the courthouse not only made the judicial system accessible for local residents, but the kinds of cases it expanded to hear, made it easier for residents and practitioners alike.

He points to divorce and family law cases that now are heard in Rolling Meadows, as well as those in the law division, or cases that involve $100,000 or more.

“One of our main goals remains to bring probate cases out here,” Kelley says. “We're drawing on the legacy of our founders, who sought to make the judicial system more accessible to residents in the Northwest suburbs.”

Services have been held.

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