"...ima nas svuda" (Serbs everywhere)!

We'd bet that at some time during your childhood, your baba told you, "ima nas svuda" in an effort to persuade you that there were Serbs everywhere -- all in seemingly unlikely, but very important places. There at least 250 Americans of Serbian descent who practice law or serve as chief executives, legislators, and judges across North America. We thought you may be interested in what some of your SBAA-related colleagues may be doing. Perhaps the most impressive group of Serbian American attorneys are those who have chosen public service. It is likely old news to many of you that Rod R. Blagojevich was inaugurated as the 40th Governor of the State of Illinois in January, 2003. Governor Blagojevich is a former United States Representative and Illinois State Representative from the Chicago area. The SBAA's 2001 Czar Dushan awardee George V. Voinovich continues to serve in the United States Senate. The popular first term Senator and former Ohio governor is gearing up for a 2004 re-election campaign. Nick Borkovich sits in Hamilton as a member of the Ontario Court of Justice. Past Czar Dushan Awardees remain on the bench: Zoran Popovich (1992) still serves a Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania in Lewisburg and Steven R. Kosach (1994) keeps a tight ship in his district courtroom in Reno, Nevada. There have been a number of fairly recent appointments to the bench of which we should all be proud: Theodore S. Potkonjak, Jr. is now an associate judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Lake County, Illinois. And renowned tambura player, George S. Ivancevich, is a Civil Magistrate in the Lake County, Indiana Circuit Court. Baba was right ... ima nas svuda. In future issues of this Newsletter, we hope to make this a regular column, keeping you up to date on the successes, comings and goings, appointments and promotions of some of our members and friends. Let us know what you're doing!

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Past SBAA President Ted Potkonjak Appointed to Lake County, Illinois Bench
By Vladan Vasiljevic

SBA Immediate Past President Theodore S. Potkonjak was named associate judge for the 19th Judicial Circuit of Illinois (Lake and McHenry Counties) on March 12, 2002. Potkonjak, the son of Todor and Mary Potkonjak of Waukegan, was installed in a ceremony at the Lake County main courthouse on April 4, 2002, which included an Invocation by V. Rev. Milan Savich of St. Basil Serbian Orthodox Church in Lake Forest, Illinois and remarks by the Chief Judge Jane Waller, Circuit Judge Stephen Walter and Greek American Judge James Booras. vThe ceremony and lenten reception which followed were attended by all of the Lake County and McHenry County judges and by many of the leading figures of Lake County and Waukegan City government, including but not limited to Fred Foreman, former US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and former Lake County States' Attorney. Ted's new position on the bench comes on the eve of the 20th anniversary of his law school graduation from California Western Law School in 1982. Thereafter, he worked for five years as an assistant state's attorney before moving into private practice in 1990. Ted has been active in a number of legal and civic groups. He has served on the Boards of the SBA and St. Basil Church since their respective inceptions and is the President of Lodge 74 "St. Sava" of the Serb National Federation. Congratulations to Ted, wife Diana and children Sam, Andrea and Joe!

Vladan Vasiljevic is a SBA Director and an intellectual property lawyer at the Chicago law firm of Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd.,

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SBAA Member Cong. Rod Blagojevich is Dem Nominee for Illinois Governor
By Dragan Milosevic

On Tuesday March 19, 2002 SBA member Rod Blagojevich won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination after a tight race in which he beat former Chicago Public Schools Head and Greek American Paul Vallas by 26,000 votes. Rod will face Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan in the general election for governor, an office the Republican Party has controlled since 1976. "The Democrats are going to win in November," Rod told his supporters at the victory rally held at a local steel company where both his father and he worked. During the campaign, Rod had support from organized labor and emphasized the blue-collar roots of his Eastern European immigrant family. Illinois Democrats already control the state's House and Supreme Court. Come January 2003, there may be Serbian-American in Governor's mansion in Springfield. Until now, the only other Serbian-American who was successful in his bid for Governor is United States Senator George Voinovich, last year's Czar Dushan award winner.

At a meeting with Serbian Orthodox Clergy on January 28, 2002 at Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Chicago, Rod called on all Serbian Americans to seriously become involved in politics. He stated: "After all that happened to us, we should understand that we must be politically active as a community and that every vote is important. We can help Serbia by becoming politically engaged wherever we live. If I succeed in the race for Governor, this will not only be important for me, but also for all our children who are immigrants or the children of immigrants." Congratulations to Rod, wife Patty and daughter Amy!

Dragan Milosevic is an SBA member who is a member of the New York and Illinois Bars and practices in Chicago