American Arab named to Cook County Illinois judicial post

Samuel J. Betar III appointed to Cook County 13th Subcircuit vacancy to fill position held by Circuit Judge Ann O’Donnell.

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Associate Judge Samuel J. Betar, III, to a 13th Subcircuit vacancy that will be created by the upcoming retirement of Circuit Judge Ann O’Donnell. The appointment is effective July 28, 2017 and goes through December 3, 2018.

Judge Betar has served as an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County since 1998 and worked in private legal practice for 15 years.

A founding member and board member of the Arab American Bar Association, he is also a member of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association, where he served as chair of the Family Service Committee. Judge Betar has served as an instructor at the Illinois Judicial Education Conference and the New Judges’ School for the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Judge Betar earned his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Boston College and his juris doctor from Loyola University.

Cook County Illinois Circuit Judge Judge Sam Betar

Illinois Supreme Court Order naming Sam Betar to the Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court 2017

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rayhanania

Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster at The Arab Daily News

RAY HANANIA — Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster

Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.

Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).

Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.

Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.

His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.

Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.

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