Near North Reacts To Irregularities

Mr. Foreman was Chicago U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and is currently a partner in the Chicago law firm of Freeborn & Peters. At the firm, he leads the practice group specializing in government relations, regulatory and compliance issues.

Before becoming U.S. District Attorney, he served three terms as Illinois state's Attorney for Lake County, Ill. and helped implement Lake County's self-insurance program.

Mr. Foreman is currently on the board of directors for the American Prosecutor's Research Institute and the YMCA of Lake County.

Mr. Francis is a professor of Law at Northwestern University, where he has taught since 1978. He is regarded as an expert in intellectual property law and commercial law. Mr. Francis is the author of software for simulating business problems.

The third new member of the board, Mr. Takiff, is an attorney and certified public accountant. He is a former assistant state's Attorney for Cook County. Mr. Takiff is chairman of the board of Park National Bank of Chicago, and president of the Bank of Highland Park Financial Corp. He serves on the board for the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls.

The appointments came after the arrest on Jan. 26 of Michael Segal, the firm's chief executive officer, on charges of embezzling $20 million from the firm out of the premium trust fund.

Mr. Segal subsequently resigned his post. The firm appointed John Harney as interim head (see NU, Feb. 11, page 9).

The appointment of the new board members came at the suggestion of the Illinois Department of Insurance after its review of accounting irregularities related to the fund.