Page 1 - The Illinois Sig - Spring 2011

The IllInoIs sIg

Sigma Chi Fraternity | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Spring 2011
Alumni Relations Office | P.O. Box 80828, Atlanta, Georgia 30366 | www.illinoissigs.org

Kappa Kappa Brother receives Significant Sig Award
In This Issue:
ur
Significant Sig ...............1 OSignificant Newest of the Board and Chairman of the Board's Finance
Sig: Facilities Committee. Milt was honored in 1990 with
Sigma Chi Legacy .........2 Milt McClure, Class of an appointment to the State University Civil Service
Alumni News ................2 1963. Milt graduated Merit Board. Today, Milt is the senior attorney in
From the Mailroom .......2 with honors from the McClure, Thomas & Thomas, a law firm with roots
From the Consul ............3 U of I College of Law dating back 125 years. Based upon evaluation by his
in 1966. By then, he peers, as published in Martindale Hubbell, Milt is
Record Pledge Class .....3 already was a CPA - rated AV, Preeminent - 5 out of 5.
Scholarships on Rise .....4 the youngest person to Milt and his wife, Suzanne, have four children.
Fraternity Affairs ...........4 achieve this certification Their example has instilled in their children the
Jim Brady Spotlight ......5 up to that time. responsibility to give back to their community. Milt
He worked briefly turned a difficult family situation into a productive
President’s Report .........5 for Arthur Anderson charitable opportunity. His son Matt was born with
Directors and Officers ...6 before serving in the severe O.I. (Osteogenesis Imperfecta), a congenital
Chapter Eternal .............6 Army from 1967-69. Milt rose to rank of Captain and bone disorder. With his dads constant support and
Correction .....................6 was honored with four medals for service in Vietnam encouragement, Matt did not let his disability keep
including a Bronze Star for service above and beyond him from becoming a KK Sigma Chi ’63, where he
the call of duty. After the military, Milt went into law received his degree in finance. But, Milt did not limit
practice in Beardstown, IL, the community which his efforts to just his son. He reached out to help other
spawned multiple generations of his family. Working children in need.
in a town where everyone knew Milt, he became Through considerable and tireless efforts, Milt
a trusted consultant and was soon an expert in the undertook fund raising for Shriners' Hospital in St.
locally important and specialized field of drainage and Louis and also sponsored many handicapped children
drainage laws. in need of the special services of the hospital. An
He has represented many clients in this field and active member in the Masonic Lodge, Milt is a Past
then shared his expertise across the state by serving Master of Cass Lodge No. 23 and was appointed Ansar
on the Real Estate Law Section of the state bar and Temple's Outer Guard. He has remained active in
the bar's subcommittee on drainage law. Milt has leadership and teaching for the First United Methodist
trained others in many areas of law as an author and Church of Beardstown, and Milt is the first member of
lecturer. He served as Special Assistant Attorney his Sigma Chi family, including his father, brother and
General for Illinois for Inheritance Tax Proceedings. son, to be honored as a Significant Sig. Milt McClure
He also served (1982-93) on the Board of Regents, has emulated the principles of The Jordan Standard by
the governing body for three state universities - achieving prominence, both in his professional and
NIU, ISU and Sangamon State - as Vice-Chairman personal life, and has brought honor to Sigma Chi.

Jim Brady, Class of 1962
On November 30, 1993,
e all know the well-publicized story of in Jim’s honor ten years ago. Jim received President Bill Clinton
Whow Jim became an Assistant to President the honorary degree of doctor of laws from signed into law the
Ronald Reagan and the White House Press McKendree College, Lebanon, Illinois, "Brady Handgun Violence
Secretary. We also know that after nearly being in 1982. In 1993, Jim and Sarah were each Protection Act", also
killed and becoming permanently disabled he awarded a doctorate degree by Drexel University. known as the "Brady Bill".
has become an ardent supporter of gun control. Jim received the Presidential Medal Since that time, dangerous
But how many know that this one time of Freedom from President Bill Clinton in people have been stopped
Eagle Scout from Centralia and Consul of our 1996, the highest civilian award in the U.S. from buying guns an
estimated 2 million times.
Sigma Chi chapter also served as a faculty member at SIU? He also had Whenever you now watch a presidential President Bill Clinton once
had a brief yet successful private sector career in sales, advertising and press briefing from the White House, note summed up the public
public relations. Jim following, held a variety of public sector positions that it is held in the James S. Brady Press service of Jim and Sarah
including Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and Briefing Room (so designated since 2000). Brady this way: "...How
Press Secretary to presidential candidate John Connally before joining Biographies have been published of Jim's many people are alive
forces with Reagan. life and career, including “Thumbs Up!” and today because of Jim and
For all his continued effforts to support gun control, the Handgun “Without Warning: the James Brady Story”, Sarah Brady? How many?
Control Incorporated was renamed the Brady Campaign/Brady Center starring Beau Bridges. Countless."