Volume 157, No. 177 Friday, September 9, 2011

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Law Bulletin and legal community reflect on their 9/11 experiencesChicago Daily Law Bulletin asked our

readers to reflect on where they were whenthey learned about the Sept. 11 attacks. Hereare their responses as well as responses fromour staff:

Sept. 11, 2001 was just anotherTuesday. I had business meetings inMinneapolis on Monday and I was on a 7a.m. flight back to Midway Airport.

The check-in at Minneapolis-St. PaulInternational Airport was normal. Ishowed up at the airport as usual, about 45minutes before departure and checked inat the gate. Again, nothing unusual.

The flight departed on time fromMinneapolis. It’s about an hour flight toChicago, but because of Chicago air trafficat rush hour it can be a bit slower.

We landed at Midway at about 8:20 a.m.and taxied to the gate (both World TradeCenter towers had been hit by 8:05 a.m.central time). We deplaned and I beganwalking through Midway on my way to the CTA Orange Line train to Chicago.Again, nothing unusual.

As the train approached the south Loop stops at about 9 a.m., I noticed anunusual number of people standing on theplatforms, some holding computers, notlaptops, but CPUs. This was unusual. Ithought maybe there was a bomb scare atSears Tower (now Willis Tower).

I exited the train at State and Lake andbegan to walk to our office at State andHubbard, north of the Chicago River.There were lots of business people on thestreets, very unusual for this time of day. Istopped one and asked if there was a localincident. He asked me where I had beenwith an exclamation mark, not a questionmark. I said I was in an airplane and hadn’tseen the local news. He told me about theattack on the World Trade Center in NewYork and said he feared Chicago may beunder attack.

No announcement of the attack wasmade on the airplane. I assume it wasbecause we were already in Chicago airspace when all planes were ordered toland everywhere in the United States. Noannouncement was made at Midway

Airport. Nothing until I stopped a strangeron the State Street bridge.

I later learned that a terrorist had beenarrested in Minneapolis for taking lessonsto fly a jet airplane and he didn’t want toknow how to land. Now that’s odd. I’vealways wondered if my airplane, scheduledto be over Chicago airspace at exactly theright time, was the vehicle for that terror-ist to slam it into the Sears Tower. I willprobably never know, but it certainly was apossibility.

Like the assassination of PresidentKennedy, we will all remember where wewere on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.I’ve been to ground zero many times, most recently in May 2011. I’ve talked tofiremen at FDNY Ladder Company No. 10on Liberty Street across from ground zero. I told one firefighter who hadreturned from an alarm that I am fromChicago, but wanted him to know howproud we are of his company and sorry for their loss.

There is nothing that is usual anymore.

Sept. 11, 2001 changed all that forAmericans.

Mike KramerPublisher of Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

•On Sept. 11, 2001, I was working as a

reporter at a midsize Indiana newspaper. Iwas scheduled to work the evening shiftbecause I needed to cover a meeting forone of my colleagues. While getting readyto workout I put the “Today” show on andquickly learned about the disaster.

I called the newspaper to ask how myeditor needed me. He dispatched me tothe local American Red Cross because weheard about a long line of people formingto donate blood. Most didn’t know what todo to help those hurt by the travesty sothey thought giving blood would be thebest way. While waiting their turns, peoplewatched several television screens thatrelayed news concerning the situation.

People cried and talked about what theContinued

Heather Eidson

Attorney G. A. Finch (left), of Hoogendoorn & Talbot LLP, prayed during the invocation atthe 9/11 prayer breakfast on Wednesday, which was hosted by The Chicago BarAssociation.

situation meant for our country. It was adeeply moving experience for me becauseon one hand people sacrificed their day togive blood, and on the other hand yourealized how truly helpless we all are. Butit gave me great hope to see so manypeople rally together to support theirfellow Americans. Each story I heard fromthose donating blood was unique andpoignant. And I couldn’t imagine beinganywhere else during such a sad time. Ifelt lucky to be alive and lucky to be ajournalist who gets to tell these people’sstories.

Olivia ClarkeGeneral assignment reporter for the Fort

Wayne Journal Gazette in 2001Now editor of the Law Bulletin and

Chicago Lawyer

•While walking from a downtown train

station to work at the Daley Center onSept. 11, 2001, I noticed a TV screen inthe window of a financial servicescompany on LaSalle Street. The livetelevision video showed that a plane hadflown into a World Trade Center buildingin New York City.

I then headed to my post in the DaleyCenter’s press room, on the building’s 7thfloor.

An editor informed me that terroristattacks occurred in New York and inWashington, D.C.

I began making phone calls and learnedthat court officials sent employees homeat 9:45 a.m. and that an evacuation of theDaley Center was underway.

Because I was gathering informationabout the impact of the attacks on theCook County court system and about anupcoming chief judge’s election, I lockedthe door to the press room, turned out thelights and kept working.

I wrote an article stating that the chiefjudge election was set to take place thenext day and it did.

After deadline, I left what was then anearly empty Daley Center.

My late father, who worked as anewspaper reporter, was proud of myremaining at my post and filing the article.But my wife, and the mother of ourchildren who were young at the time, wasnot pleased that I did not leave the DaleyCenter following the evacuation order.

John Flynn RooneyDaley Center beat reporter in 2001Law Bulletin staff writer today

•It’s amazing how many people know

exactly where they were and what they

were doing on 9/11; much like NeilArmstrong stepping on to the moon 32years earlier. However, the emotionsthese two memories evoke couldn’t bemore different. I was barely out of diaperswhen Apollo 11 landed on the moon, andyet I do remember the excitement, joy andpride my parents exhibited with theirfriends upon hearing the news. Early inthe morning on 9/11 I had just gotten acup of coffee and was joining a conferencecall with a couple of lawyers, one of whomwas located in the Sears Tower (I stillcan’t bring myself to refer to it as theWillis Tower). No sooner had we begunour discussion when there was an eerie

coincidence. In the background of each ofour offices there was suddenly a lot ofchatter that was loud and animated. Icouldn’t make out the background voiceson the phone, but as I stood up to catchthe attention of those in my office, all Isaw was frantic, scared and sad faces. Justthen one of the other lawyers on the callannounced the reason – American AirlinesFlight 11 had just crashed into the northtower in New York. In shock, we all triedto get more news online, not believingthis news could be true.

As we each found confirmation, youcould hear our exclamations full of

Continued

Heather Eidson

Attorney Kareem M. Irfan (center), chairman of the Council of Religious Leaders ofMetropolitan Chicago, gave the benediction at the 9/11 prayer breakfast on Wednesday.

Heather Eidson

Attorney Rosemary Simota Thompson, of the U.S. Department of Justice, AntitrustDivision, sang along to “God Bless America” during Wednesday’s prayer breakfast.

emotion over the line. I remember hearingmy colleagues react caused me to be evenmore emotional. “@#$!, my sister worksnear the twin towers.” I excused myselffrom the call and texted my sister and myparents in DC to be sure everyone wasalright. While I heard from everyone thatthey were fine, the first videos and livenews coverage was becoming available. Iwill forever remember the image of Flight11 slamming into the north tower, and theanxiety and building sinking feeling I feltin my stomach. The the images of thetowers collapsing became available, andshortly thereafter I got a text from mycolleague, “evacuating” the Sears Tower.Shock, fear, anxiety and sadness –emotions tied to my memories. Even as Itype this, my fingers shake a bit. I wouldlater learn that a childhood friend died intothe north tower. I have participated in anumber of 9/11 events and am amazed andsomewhat comforted by the sharedmemories and emotions we all have ofthat day.

Peter MierzwaGeneral Manager, Sullivan’s Law

Directory, Jury Verdict Reporter, LawBulletin Seminars and Index PublishingCorp.

•I was in Indianapolis at a conference

sponsored by the Indiana Human RightsCommission. I was preparing to make apresentation to real estate professionals,builders, developers, managers andbankers on fair housing and fair lending.While I was in the lobby waiting for thespeaker ahead of me to complete hisremarks I was watching a TV monitor andsaw the second plane fly into the secondtower. I was advised there would be ashort recess before the conference wouldcontinue with my presentation.

I called the airport and found out allplanes were grounded. I asked the hoteldesk if I could stay in the hotel that nightand the desk said because I had checkedout they could not give me a roombecause they were full. I checked a coupleof other hotels and they were full as well.

I called rental car companies and theysaid they had no cars. Then the Hertzclerk told me about a local rental carcompany. I rented a car and after manyrequests from people standing in the carrental office I agreed to take three youngstudents with me who shared the cost.The seminar then continued. I finished myspeech. I had fewer questions than usual.We then headed for Chicago. As we drovewe learned that the attack on the towerswas attributed to “radical Islamists.”

I didn’t know what that term wassupposed to mean. The young man in thefront seat with me fell asleep and I beganto talk to his two female companions inthe back seat. They advised me they wereMuslim students from Iraq who wereattending college in Chicago and they hadbeen attending a meeting in Indianapolisfor foreign students from the Middle East.The trip was uneventful. When we arrivedat the drop off point I said goodbye to mypassengers, accepted their part of the carrental cost and took a limo home.

Clinical Professor F. Willis Caruso The John Marshall Law School

•I drove into the Loop to teach a 9 a.m.

property class. I heard the reports on theradio about the planes hitting the WorldTrade Center. I was upset but not alarmed,given all the air traffic in the NYC area.My daughter was with me. She wasplanning to take the Orange Line toMidway Airport to return to the WestCoast where she and her husband wereliving.

When I came into the classroom, Ifound many students watching the planesin real time on their laptops. I had ascheduled quiz that day, so I asked themto close their laptops, give full attention tothe test and that later they could get backto the news story.

Just as the test was completed a staffperson came into the room and told us toall leave the Loop immediately. I wentback to my office to make sure my centerstaff was leaving. One student from the

property class followed me to askquestions. I realized he was terrified. Itold him we could take up his questionslater, and urged him to leave the centralbusiness district immediately. By then Iwas worried.

Just as I was about to leave, mydaughter called to say Midway had beenshut down and she was coming back onthe Orange Line into the Loop for a returntrip home. She did finally meet up withher husband several days later, but onlyafter a long drive by car because flightswere grounded.

Professor Celeste M. HammondDirector, Center for Real Estate LawThe John Marshall Law School

•I was in my vehicle parked outside of

the Lake County Courthouse inWaukegan, listening to the radio andpreparing for a 9 a.m. hearing. I sat therein disbelief overwhelmed by the horror ofit all. I quickly realized that this hadchanged everything. I was anxious to gethome so I could hold on tightly to my onlychild at the time.

Matthew L. WillensWillens Law OfficesChicago

•I was driving out to Rockford to cover

Illinois workers’ compensation hearingsbefore Arbitrator Holland in the state ofIllinois building there on Wyman Street(E.J. “Zeke” Giorgi Center) and I listened

Continued

Heather Eidson

Gov. Patrick J. Quinn gave the keynote address during the 9/11 prayer breakfast.

to Howard Stern the whole way out. Atthe time he was on a local FM radiostation whose signal went out to aroundBelvidere at which point I lost the show. Iarrived at the hearing site around 9 a.m. Idon’t remember who told me but one ofthe attorneys told me what washappening. Most everyone was in theauditorium where they had set up a TV. Isat there watching the two towersburning. No one expected they would fall.I will never forget one of my clients camein to the auditorium. He asked me abouthis case. I remember looking up at himand thinking how could he not know whatwas going on and how on earth could heexpect me to answer his question. Iremember there was a scare that theSears Tower could be a target as well. Icalled the office where I worked andeveryone was still there even though itwas in the shadow of the Sears Tower. Ifelt relatively safe being out in Rockford.A passenger jet landed at the Rockfordairport as part of the call to clear theskies.

I did call the station manager of theradio station to ask why he didn’t breakinto the show with the news. He was newto the job and advised me he was listeningto the show also and simply didn’t knowwhat was going on in the world that dayeither.

Robert J. SmolerSmoler Law OfficeChicago

•It was about my third week of my first

year of law school at Chicago-Kent. I wasin the shower that morning at myapartment in Chicago’s Lakeviewneighborhood when my roommateknocked on the door and told me that mymother was on the phone and that it wasimportant. I knew that my grandfather, 74years old at the time, had back surgery ina Manhattan hospital on Sept. 10 and Iimmediately thought that there had beensome complication arising from that. Itproved not to be the case, but one sinkingfeeling turned into another when she toldme to turn on the television. I turned it onand saw both towers of the World TradeCenter burning. The second plane had hitthe south tower only minutes before. Mysinking feeling now turned to my uncleKevin, my father’s younger brother, andmy godfather. Uncle Kevin was a highlydecorated, 20-plus-year veteran in theFDNY — a lieutenant with LadderCompany 3 in Manhattan. His fire housewas on 13th Street and 4th Avenue inManhattan, a mere minutes from the

World Trade Center. I had no idea if he hadbeen on duty, but there was a part of methat nevertheless knew that he was there.

My family and I went all day withouthearing from Kevin. We learned that hehad worked the night shift immediatelybefore the attack and that he had not madeit to the hospital to visit my grandfather ashe had planned. Kevin had gone off dutyearly that morning, before the attackbegan, but instinctively responded to theWorld Trade Center anyway. Late into theevening of Sept. 11, 2011, we learned thatLt. Kevin W. Donnelly was officially listedas “missing,” along with 11 other bravemen from his firehouse. Despite all of theoptimism that I could muster, knowingthat there were likely voids in the debrispile and that Kevin had responded to the1993 World Trade Center attack and knewthe ins and outs of the entire complexvery well, reality was telling me that hehad made the supreme sacrifice and gavehis life helping others to safety. Hoursturned into days, and days into weeks aswe waited for any news whatsoever. Amemorial service was on Oct. 6 inWantagh, N.Y.

We had no body to bury — onlymemories to celebrate. I was 22 years oldat the time and gave one of the threeeulogies that day in front of thousands offamily, friends, well-wishers andfirefighters all dressed in their Class Auniforms. Uncle Kevin was given full firedepartment honors. It was the mostmoving and emotionally difficult day of mylife. Uncle Kevin’s body was eventuallyrecovered on March 16, 2002, the daybefore St. Patrick’s Day — his favoriteholiday. He was laid to rest shortlythereafter in a small, private ceremony atthe Cemetery of the Holy Rood inWestbury, N.Y.

I, along with my wife, parents,grandparents and other members of myimmediate and extended family will returnto New York this year to mark the 10thanniversary of that tragic day. There willbe more memorials and dedications andwe will have the opportunity to visit theLadder 3 firehouse and share memorieswith the other members of LadderCompany 3. It is sure to be anotheremotional day, but one emotion will standout in my mind — PRIDE. Pride for whatmy Uncle Kevin and his brotherfirefighters accomplished that day — thelargest rescue of civilian life in Americanhistory.

Craig E. DonnellyRoberts, McGivney, Zagotta LLCChicago

•On Sept. 11, 2001, I was on a detail

assignment in Washington, on the sixthfloor of the former headquarters of theOffice of Thrift Supervision,approximately one block from the WhiteHouse. It was a bright sunny morning andWashington was abuzz because MichaelJordan had just signed a two-year contractto play for the Washington Wizards of theNBA. It was at approximately 9:50 a.m.Washington time when I learned of theattack. My initial thought was it was somecrackpots in private airplanes, it would notbe until later that I learned of the trueseverity. While listening to the radio, wesaw a flood of employees leaving the OldExecutive Office Building, which was justeast of our office. It was not long untilsecurity personnel ordered us to evacuate;and advised us not to enter the subway.

I walked to my hotel, about a milenorth. The streets were full of peopleheading away from downtown andvehicular traffic was at a standstill. Therewas no panic, more or less an orderlywithdrawal. Military jets could be heardoverhead and the sirens of emergencyvehicles moving through the streets. Uponarrival at my hotel, I went to the roof andsaw the smoke from the Pentagon. It wasonly upon returning to my room andturning on the TV, hearing Peter Jenningssay “what used to be the World TradeCenter,” that it hit me. As the day woreon, security in D.C. got much tighter andmovement was somewhat restricted.

Neal J. O’BrienTrust Examiner, then Office of Thrift

Supervision, Bartlett, Ill. in 2001And today, a bank examiner for the

Department of the Treasury, Office of theComptroller of the Currency

•I was in San Diego to attend a multi-day

industry tradeshow that began on Sept.11. Like millions of others drawn in by thestunning live broadcast, I witnessed thefall of the twin towers that morning on thetelevision in my hotel room. Thetradeshow came to a screeching halt on itsopening day as every large-screen displayin the venue was tuned to live coverage ofthat morning’s events; nothing elsemattered.

I found myself walking at the harbor’sedge, watching one big naval vessel afteranother head out from Naval Base SanDiego for blue water. As if the newscoverage weren’t gut-wrenching enough,watching the Navy take that obvious steptoward a war footing provided a vivid and

Continued

sobering emotional footnote to the horrorand the confusion of those early hours.Knowing that commercial flights werenow grounded and were likely to remaingrounded for some time, I managed toreserve a seat on Amtrak’s SouthwestChief back to Chicago. And I do mean“seat” — the sleeper accommodationswere all long gone for that multi-dayjourney. Everyone on that packed trainused cellphones to remain connected withloved ones and keep up on furtherdevelopments, and there was no shortageof extemporaneous discussions about thewhat, who, when, where and why of 9/11.I arrived home exhausted in more waysthan one, knowing that my discomforts of

the past few days were trivial in light ofthe big picture.

Steven G. Parmelee Fitch, Even, Tabin & FlanneryChicago

•On 9/11 I was on my way to my 8 a.m.

class. Nothing seemed amiss, howeverwhen I got out of class I noticed that anodd number of people were franticallyrunning, talking to each other and on theircellphones. At that time, cellphone usewas not as rampant as it was today so thatpeeked my interest.

As I walked to my dorm room one ofmy very good friends ran up to me and

told me a plane had hit the World TradeCenter. I was stunned speechless. As Iwalked into my dorm room, I turned onthe television and saw the second planehit. I screamed almost at the time of theimpact. I felt horribly powerless. I couldnot believe it. I stared at that televisionfor what had to be hours. I eventuallybegan to call my family and friends. Noneof them were in New York but I just feltthe need to talk to those who I loved andlet them know I loved them back.

As long as I live I’ll never forget thatday. And I hope I never do.

Andrea M. HarveyHarvey Law Office P.C.Chicago

Copyright © 2011 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.