Press Release

NIU Law Announces 2009 Recipients of the Kenneth C. Chessick Scholarship Program

Kenneth C. Chessick Civil Justice Endowed Scholarship Program named in
honor of clients who were victims of medical negligence

December 4, 2009

DeKalb, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University College of Law is pleased to announce that second-year law students Jonathan Braden and Brae Tilton were selected as the 2009 recipients in the Kenneth C. Chessick Civil Justice Endowed Scholarship Program. NIU Law alumnus Dr. Kenneth C. Chessick (’84) established the endowed scholarship program in 2007 in honor of clients who were victims of medical negligence.

The NIU Foundation sponsored the scholarship luncheon where the students were presented with their awards by Kenneth and Ellen Chessick.  “Giving these scholarships to Brae and Jonathan provided the opportunity for me to emphasize to these bright, enthusiastic, and accomplished burgeoning lawyers that the law is about people,” remarked Kenneth Chessick. 

Jonathan Braden, of Neoga, Ill, received the Hope Moller Scholarship Award for the Study of Tort Law. This $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a second-year NIU Law student who has excelled in the first-year Tort courses, an area of law that seeks to provide remedies to parties injured as a result of a civil wrong, and is able to articulate the importance of that area of law.

Brae Tilton, of Bartonville, Ill., received the Lakisha Sarden Scholarship Award for the Study of Civil Procedure Law. This $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a second-year NIU Law student who has excelled in the first-year Civil Procedure course and is able to articulate the impact of Civil Procedure on litigation in aiding the victims of medical negligence.

In addition to the Chessicks, the parents of Lakisha Sarden also attended the luncheon and met the students.  The Sarden scholarship is named in memory of Lakisha, who died at the age of 13 as a result of sickle cell disease and heart failure. A jury determined that her death was the result of negligent failure to diagnose and treat her disease.

“Providing these young people with the opportunity to meet the victims of medical negligence, who obtained some justice from the legal system, was beneficial to the family members in whose name the scholarships were awarded and to everyone concerned.  I am proud of NIU and its contributions to making the world a safer place for all of us,” commented Chessick.

NIU Law Dean Jennifer Rosato thought the scholarship luncheon was such a success that it should become an annual event.  “NIU and the College of Law are fortunate to have alumni like Ken who use their training, skills, and passion to change the legal system to improve the quality of patients’ lives and prevent harm in the future.  We appreciate his commitment to the University and our law students through his numerous contributions, including his scholarship program,” said Dean Rosato.

A successful trial attorney and surgeon, Dr. Chessick concentrates his practice in medical and hospital negligence and personal injury. His firm, The Law Offices of Kenneth C. Chessick, M.D., in Schaumburg, Ill., has achieved record verdicts at trial and settlements in excess of $100 million. The first two scholarships in the series are named in honor of Chessick’s clients, Lakisha Sarden and Hope Moller, who lost their lives due to medical negligence.

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For more information, contact: 
Melody Mitchell, Director
Alumni Events & Public Relations
NIU College of Law
(815) 753-9655 or mmitchell@niu.edu