ATG® ELECTS NEW OFFICERS

In the fall of 2005, Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG) elected new officers to its Board of Directors, who will also serve on the Executive Committee. Pictured are (rear, from left) Ward F. McDonald, of Champaign, Ill., Secretary; James Molenaar, of Lansing, Ill., Immediate Past Chairman; Peter J. Birnbaum, of Chicago, Ill., ATG President and CEO; William W. Austin (sitting on table), of Effingham, Ill., Chairman; Curtis R. Tobin, of Belvidere, Ill., Treasurer; and (front, seated) Robert F. Russell, of Princeton, Ill., Vice Chairman. Chairman | William W. Austin
An ATG member since 1977, Mr. Austin is a partner in the law firm of Siemer, Austin, Resch, Fuhr & Totten (Effingham, Ill.), where he concentrates in real estate, business, and banking law and related litigation. He is a Director and past Chairman of ATG Trust Company, an ATG subsidiary. Active in the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), he is a member of the Standing Committee on Military Affairs, the Real Estate Law Section Council, a Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation, and a representative of the Assembly (1993-2001). Other affiliations include the American Bar Association, the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association, High Scope Educational Research Foundation, and McKendree College. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.S. 1967, J.D. 1970.
 
Vice Chairman | Robert F. Russell
Mr. Russell joined ATG in 1974. A partner in the law firm of Russell, English, Scoma & Beneke (Princeton, Ill.), he concentrates in the areas of real estate, estate planning and probate, and local government law. Long active in his community, Russell is currently the chairman of the A.H. Shoemake Community Foundation and the Bureau County Metropolitan Board, and is a director of the Princeton Park District Foundation. He is a past chairman of Perry Memorial Hospital, Amcore Bank-North Central, and the Bureau County Red Cross. He is a past vice chairman of Illinois Valley Community College Foundation and has served on the Board of Education for Princeton High School. He has been a member of the ISBA Real Estate (1988-1992) and the Education Law (1993-1995) Section Councils. Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif., B.A. 1970; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, J.D.1973.

Secretary | Ward F. McDonald
Mr. McDonald was ATG's first corporate President (1970-1983) and has been an active member since that time. He is a lawyer with the law firm of Meyer Capel, A Professional Corporation (Champaign, Ill.) where he concentrates in the areas of commercial real estate law and finance. An adjunct professor for the College of Law and Department of Finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mr. McDonald is a charter member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and Illinois Bar Foundation. He is a life fellow of the American Bar Foundation, former chairman of the Real Estate Law Section Council of the ISBA, and a member of the boards of Prairie Rivers Network and Land Conservation Foundation. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.S. 1964, J.D. 1969.

Treasurer | Curtis R. Tobin, II
Mr. Tobin, an ATG member since 1979, is a principal in the law firm of Tobin & Ramon (Belvidere, Ill.) where he concentrates in the areas of title insurance, real estate, estate planning, estate administration, and school law. He is a member of the Boone and Winnebago County and Illinois State Bar Associations as well as the Association of Financial Planners. He serves on the boards of Belvidere National Bank and Landmark Financial Holding Company. Illinois Wesleyan University, B.A. 1962; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, J.D. 1965.

 

NAOMI SCHUSTER ELECTED TO ATG® BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 
Naomi H. Schuster (Alsip, Ill.) became an ATG member in 1984. She was a partner at Sosin & Schuster for ten years, then formed Law Offices of Naomi H. Schuster (Palos Heights) in 1992. She concentrates in real estate, estate planning, civil and commercial litigation, and elder law. "Naomi Schuster is one of the most respected lawyers in the Illinois Bar," said Peter Birnbaum, ATG President. "We are proud to have her as a Director."

Active in the legal community, Schuster is a past president (1998), past board member, and current pro bono volunteer of the Southwest Bar Association, a member of the ISBA's Assembly, Elder Law Section Council, Finance and Budget Committee, Legislation Committee, Task Force on Unauthorized Practice of Law, and Standing Committee on Bar Elections.
In addition, she was elected to the ISBA Board of Governors, serves as chair of the Fellows program of the Illinois Bar Foundation, and is a member of the South Suburban Bar Association, Women's Bar Association of Illinois, and Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association. Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, B.S. 1973, M.A. 1975; DePaul University, Chicago, J.D. 1978.

 

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