CBA Record July-August 2018

writ of certiorari by the United States Supreme Court. Rotering said the assault weapons ban is an example of the high quality of legal service that Elrod brings to municipal work. “Steve was masterful in handling the matter for the City. He clearly explained his strategies, made us partners in the process, and communicated the complex processes we would experience in the course of litigation,” said Rotering. “His advocacy was exemplary.” The work environment in municipal government can bring unique challenges. Individual towns and villages each have their special issues with a variety of personalities offering many different opinions. Kathryn Ciesla, an attorney and a trustee for the village of Northbrook, said Elrod is a consistent and steady voice in the boardroom, even when the debate becomes heated. “There are many times when people come before us and they are very protective of their personal and their property rights. Sometimes they are very angry,” said Ciesla. “As a board we often look to Steve for his perspective in these situations. He has this deep and calming voice and he is always poised. He really helps to calm the room and maintain the decorumwhenever it is necessary.” CBA Focus As CBA President, Elrod said he will work to foster new ways to promote civility and collegiality in the practice of law–traits that he believes are in peril in many ways in today’s legal climate. “I am deeply concerned about the tone of the conversation and debate at all levels and in all branches of government. It is permeating into the legal profession. There is a lack of respect and a lack of civility by and among lawyers,” said Elrod. “But members of the legal profession can play a huge role in turning this around as leaders in our communities, our courtrooms and boardrooms. Our Bar Association should lead the way in restoring civility in our profession.” While he has high praise for the CBA’s efforts to advance training and contact with members via the internet and social media, he will also work to promote more in-person involvement by committee members. “People need to be ‘in the room where it happens,’” explains the Broadway aficionado, referencing the famed song from the musical Hamilton. Another of Elrod’s top agenda items will be to engage CBA members to help promote civic education in schools, a cause he is deeply passionate about. Elrod is the past chairman of the board of directors of CRFC, a non-partisan organization dedicated to providing law-related and civic education to elementary and high school students. “I would like to see members of the CBA work closely with organizations like CRFC, and I intend to make it readily acces- sible for members to sign up and get involved,” he said. “Teaching kids about their rights and the constitution is so important for the focus that students will have in their lives and in advancing our democracy.” Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Diane Wood, who serves with Elrod on the board of directors of CRFC, said he emulates the

Elrod, with his father, Richard J. Elrod, and son, Daniel Elrod.

History of Service Elrod’s strong civic streak can be traced to his family’s long his- tory of public service in the Chicago area. Both his father and his grandfather were elected public officials in Cook County, the former, the late Judge Richard J. Elrod. After law school, Richard Elrod began his career as an assistant corporation counsel for the city of Chicago and went on to become the city’s chief prosecutor in 1965. While walking the streets with police during the 1969 “Days of Rage” demonstrations, he was seriously injured during an altercation with an anti-war protestor. The devastating injury left him paralyzed, but his son recalls that it never slowed him down. Just months after the injury, Richard Elrod ran for Cook County Sheriff, a post he would hold for four terms, followed by more than 25 years on the bench in the Circuit Court of Cook County. “My father never ever let setbacks get in his way. He pushed past the physical barriers with tremendous courage,” Elrod said. Steven Elrod’s grandfather Arthur rose to political prominence as a commissioner on the Cook County Board in the 1940s and 50s. There would be no political path for Steven Elrod, but he believes that his passion for land use and zoning bears a funda- mental similarity to the government service of his father. “I believe that I inherited my father’s diplomatic approach to the legal process, which is to identify where there is commonality and mutual areas of agreement between parties,” Elrod said. “One of the reasons that I enjoy the transactional area of the practice of law is the ability to make deals and have everyone walk away from the table feeling as though they have won.” Nancy Rotering, the Mayor of Highland Park, has worked with Elrod since she joined the Highland Park City Council in 2009. Highland Park enacted an assault weapons ban in 2013 that Elrod drafted and helped steer through passage. He led the team that successfully defended a challenge to the ban by the Illinois Rifle Association that was ultimately upheld by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and also, through the denial of a petition for

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