Lutheran Social Services names Reno 'true friend'

Supporters of the Des Plaines-based Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, aim high when selecting recipients of their annual Amicus Certus Award, which means 'true friend' in Latin.

This year was no exception. They chose U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, citing her lifelong service and dedication to justice, particularly her commitment to prisoner rehabilitation and justice reform, as meriting the organization's highest honor.

To their delight, Reno accepted.

She was on hand Saturday at their Amicus Certus Gala, held at the InterContinental Chicago Hotel, and hosted by members of the Women's Network.

Sharing the dais with Reno were Bob Sirott, NBC 5 Chicago news anchor who served as emcee, and Orion Samuelson, of WGN Radio and a 1996 Amicus Certus honoree, who filled in as auctioneer.

Sally Aigner and Marilynn Mantell, both of Arlington Heights, chaired the event, which drew 260 guests and raised $75,000 for Building Homes: Rebuilding Lives, a program within the Prisoner and Family Ministry program run by Lutheran Social Services of Illinois.

Through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity and the Illinois Department of Corrections, Lutheran Social Services' building program provides job training in the construction trades to inmates in 17 Illinois prisons.

They learn to build wall sections, trusses, cabinets and storage sheds, which are in turn used by Habitat for Humanity volunteers to construct affordable housing.

"We were so honored and humbled to have had an honoree of this magnitude," said the Rev. Frederick Aigner, president. "We are a faith-based organization, effectively providing a wide range of services to the most at-risk populations, and are drawing attention, nationally.

"And I think, she recognized this," Aigner added.

During her tenure as one of the longest-serving U.S. Attorney General, from 1993-2001, Reno focused on a broad initiative of anti-crime programs, involving rehabilitation and treatment, as well as preventative efforts, Aigner said during his introduction.

But it was her pioneering efforts, while serving as Florida's first woman state's attorney, in fighting for children's rights, and juvenile justice reform, that drew the agency's admiration.

"She has a long history of social justice reform," Aigner said. "She is about, what we are about, and she has spent her career doing that."