Legendary Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie “Mr. Cub” Banks was elected Honorary President of the Fatherhood Educational Institute (FEI). FEI is a non-profit organization founded by nationally recognized family law attorney Jeffery M. Leving. The non-profit is dedicated to promoting positive fatherhood involvement in all communities.

Mr. Banks became involved with FEI because he was impressed by its outreach programs and seminars. The Cubs Hall of Famer was especially admiring of FEI’s fatherhood educational seminars, which allow men to gather together and talk about some of the stresses of modern fatherhood, as well as its Virtual Visitation Initiative, which aims to foster greater connection between children and fathers who are physically removed from their families because of disability, illness, military service or incarceration.

Attached is a post-election photo of, left to right, FEI advisory board member and former New York Giant Gordon Bell, FEI President Emeritus attorney Jeffery Leving, Honorary President Ernie Banks, FEI board member matrimonial attorney James Hagler and FEI supporter, matrimonial & appellate attorney Andrey Filipowicz.

For more information about the Fatherhood Educational Institute call Jennifer Whiteside at 312.795.9060 and visit www.fatherhood-edu.org.

Viewers can call in with questions and comments at (312) 738-1060 or stream live at: http://cantv.org/live. Questions can also be submitted through the Fatherhood Educational Institute Facebook Page.

Earlier in the year Mr. Poole scored a big victory when he obtained sole custody for a primary caregiver father who was being forced out of his child’s life by an absentee biological mother. The father had taken care of his son for over ten years when the mother decided to pick up the boy from school and take him home without the father’s permission. The father felt he had no power to stop this under the law, but he didn’t give up hope, and neither did Les.

About Attorney Leslie Poole

Leslie Poole has a successful track record of high-level litigation in every aspect of family law, securing significant victories for clients in divorce cases that have involved complex, high net-worth marital estates, in addition to contested custody, support and visitation issues. He is passionate about protecting the rights of parents.

About Attorney Jeffery Leving

Jeffery M. Leving has been named one of “America’s Best Lawyers” by Forbes Radio™. He is also the chairman of the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood (www.ResponsibleFatherhood.Illinois.gov) and founder of the Fatherhood Educational Institute, which promotes fatherhood in impoverished communities. In November of 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Leving the National Lifetime Call to Service Award. His groundbreaking book on custody, Fathers’ Rights, hit #1 on Amazon’s Best Selling Author’s list. He is also the author of Divorce Wars and the newly released and critically acclaimed How to Be a Good Divorced Dad.

About CAN – TV

CAN-TV (Chicago Access Network Television), allows members of the community to voice their opinions on television. CAN-TV has five local, non-commercial channels that reach over one million viewers throughout Chicago.

Viewers can call in with questions and comments at (312) 738-1060 or stream live at: http://cantv.org/live. Questions can also be submitted through the Fatherhood Educational Institute Facebook Page.

Earlier in the year Ms. Martinez helped secure a major child custody win when she worked with attorney James Hagler to win custody for People Magazine Teacher of the Year Robert Vega, a Chicago resident.

About Attorney Alexandra Martinez

Ms. Martinez received her juris doctorate from DePaul University College of Law. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association and is fluent in Spanish. Before joining the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., she contributed to the Advanced Immigrant Defense Clinic and gained critical experience defending falsely accused parents in DCFS cases. She also worked for the Legal Aid Bureau safeguarding victims of domestic violence. She is experienced in strategically litigating contested family law issues relating to child support, visitation, maintenance and child custody. She has helped immigrant families in contested divorces as well as foreclosure, bankruptcy, evictions and immigration issues.

About Attorney Jeffery Leving

Jeffery M. Leving (http://dadsrights.com) has been named one of “America’s Best Lawyers” by Forbes Radio™. He is also the chairman of the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood (www.ResponsibleFatherhood.Illinois.gov) and founder of the Fatherhood Educational Institute, which promotes fatherhood in impoverished communities. In November of 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Leving the National Lifetime Call to Service Award. His groundbreaking book on custody, Fathers’ Rights, hit #1 on Amazon’s Best Selling Author’s list. He is also the author of Divorce Wars and the newly released and critically acclaimed How to Be a Good Divorced Dad.

About CAN – TV

CAN-TV (Chicago Access Network Television), allows members of the community to voice their opinions on television. CAN-TV has five local, non-commercial channels that reach over one million viewers throughout Chicago. For more information concerning the pursuit of justice for immigrant families, call Jennifer Whiteside at (312) 296-3666.

Mr. Reardon is an established presence on the fathers’ rights scene, having successfully litigated hundreds of high-conflict domestic relations cases in his 27 years of practice.

Both Mr. Reardon and Mr. Hagler have extensive experience in every aspect of fathers’ rights issues, from paternity and child support, to child custody and parental alienation, to prenuptial agreements and the division of significant business assets.

About Attorney Robert Reardon

Attorney Robert Reardon started his career as a prosecutor, ultimately becoming Chief of his division. He then switched sides and became a criminal defense lawyer, defending a number of sophisticated criminal cases. Since moving to family law, he has become a master fathers’ rights strategist on issues ranging from child custody to asset division.

About Attorney Jeffery Leving

Named one of “America’s Best Lawyers” by Forbes Radio™, Jeffery M. Leving (http://dadsrights.com) is co-author of the Illinois Joint Custody Act. He is also the chairman of the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood (www.ResponsibleFatherhood.Illinois.gov) and founder of the Fatherhood Educational Institute, which promotes fatherhood in impoverished communities. In November of 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Leving the National Lifetime Call to Service Award. His groundbreaking book on custody, Fathers’ Rights, hit #1 on Amazon’s Best Selling Author’s list. He is also the author of Divorce Wars and the newly released and critically acclaimed How to Be a Good Divorced Dad.

About CAN – TV

CAN-TV (Chicago Access Network Television), allows members of the community to voice their opinions on television. CAN-TV has five local, non-commercial channels that reach over one million viewers throughout Chicago. For more information concerning the pursuit of justice for unwed fathers with young children, call Jennifer Whiteside at (312) 296-3666.

The conference, now in its 14^th year, will be held in San Francisco over four days, with important figures from politics, government, healthcare, and education giving addresses on fatherhood issues. Mr. Leving was the conference key note speaker in in 2008, and this fall President Barack Obama awarded the National Call to Service Award to the fathers’ rights attorney for his work with the coalition.

“Children are the future of our society, and incarcerated fathers have children of whom this is no less true,” Leving notes. “Imprisoned fathers are responsible for most of the 1.5 million minor children of incarcerated parents. We need to break the cycle of criminality through positive father-child involvement because the most reliable predictor of crime is neither poverty nor race, but growing up fatherless.”

Leving will present with Washington, D.C. Judge Milton Lee on the “Fathering Court Initiative” a program that helps men with criminal histories reduce child support arrears during imprisonment, secure fathers’ rights to reconnect with their children, and find employment after their incarceration. The program supports formerly incarcerated fathers with a year of fatherhood education classes to help them become strong co-parents, which greatly reduces the likelihood of repeat criminal offenses.

It also diverts men with lesser offenses from the prison system entirely if they commit to graduate from the program.

The program has enjoyed impressive success with the men it has helped thus far. This fall it received a Bright Idea award from Harvard University, and the Justice Department will initiate a national program with “Fathering Court” as the blueprint.

Jeffery M. Leving first became nationally known as fathers’ rights attorney working on cases involving Elian Gonzalez and a host of well-known athletes and politicians. He is the founder of the charity, The Fatherhood Educational Institute, which developed the pilot program for incarcerated fathers which “Fathering Court” models. For more information on Jeffery M. Leving’s pursuit of justice, contact the Fatherhood Educational Institute (www.fatherhood-edu.org) at (312) 795-9060.

Ms. Delgadillo and Mr. Leving will discuss the special challenges faced by unwed fathers in the court system, particularly when very young children are involved.

Ms. Delgadillo recently secured an unwed father custody of his infant son after it was found that the mother was exposing the baby to unsafe conditions. Since it is easier for mothers who are not married to move children out of state or overseas, totally cutting off fathers’ contact with their offspring, it’s critical that unwed fathers protect their rights.

About Attorney Catherine Delgadillo

A black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Ms. Delgadillo is a passionate litigator with over 20 years’ experience fighting on behalf of fathers and children. She has served with Chicago’s Legal Assistance Foundation, winning significant victories, and she has also participated in a Cook County Public Guardian’s Office study on DCFS protocol. She has prevented mothers from moving children out-of-state on numerous occasions and has rescued many children from abusive homes.

About Attorney Jeffery Leving

Named one of “America’s Best Lawyers” by Forbes Radio™, Jeffery M. Leving (http://dadsrights.com) is co-author of the Illinois Joint Custody Act. He is also the chairman of the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood (www.ResponsibleFatherhood.Illinois.gov) and founder of the Fatherhood Educational Institute, which promotes fatherhood in impoverished communities. In November of 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Leving the National Lifetime Call to Service Award. His groundbreaking book on custody, Fathers’ Rights, hit #1 on Amazon’s Best Selling Author’s list. He is also the author of Divorce Wars and the newly released and critically acclaimed How to Be a Good Divorced Dad.

About CAN – TV

CAN-TV (Chicago Access Network Television), allows members of the community to voice their opinions on television. CAN-TV has five local, non-commercial channels that reach over one million viewers throughout Chicago. For more information concerning the pursuit of justice for unwed fathers with young children, call Jennifer Whiteside at (312) 296-3666.

The second story of we feature this month is that of site moderator Jennifer Whiteside, who immigrated to the United States from a difficult life in Trinidad to discover a new model of fatherhood embodied by her second husband.  You can read her story here: http://ourblackheritage.com/index.php/daddies-and-daughters/

WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR STORY ABOUT A CARING DAD. Submit it to Jennifer at info@ourblackheritage.com.

Mr. Kallow and Mr. Leving will discuss the special legal challenges of grandparents who are trying to gain custody of their grandchildren.

In an era in which young people increasingly are having children whom they are unable and unwilling to care for, grandparents have had to step in to save the future of this fragile group of kids. Find out what you can do to protect your grandchildren and your rights as their guardian and provider.

About Attorney Art Kallow

On February 7^th, Mr. Kallow won his latest victory for the custody rights of grandparents. He has extensive experience winning parentage rights for grandparents in court. A highly respected family law attorney, Mr. Kallow is the 2009 and 2010 recipient of the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County recognition award. Thomson Reuters has named him an “Illinois Super Lawyer,” an honor given to only the top five percent of attorneys in the state. He has attended the National Judicial College and has been appointed by judges to serve as a child representative in a number of contested visitation and custody cases. He has also served as a hearing officer for the City of Chicago and has successfully represented hundreds of clients throughout the decades, including cases which involved complex jury trials, contested custody and visitation, child support, paternity, and intricate financial issues.

About Attorney Jeffery Leving

Named one of “America’s Best Lawyers” by Forbes Radio™, Jeffery M. Leving (http://dadsrights.com) is co-author of the Illinois Joint Custody Act. He is also the chairman of the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood (www.ResponsibleFatherhood.Illinois.gov) and founder of the Fatherhood Educational Institute, which promotes fatherhood in impoverished communities. In November of 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Leving the National Lifetime Call to Service Award. His groundbreaking book on custody, Fathers’ Rights, hit #1 on Amazon’s Best Selling Author’s list. He is also the author of Divorce Wars and the newly released and critically acclaimed How to Be a Good Divorced Dad.

About CAN – TV

CAN-TV (Chicago Access Network Television), allows members of the community to voice their opinions on television. CAN-TV has five local, non-commercial channels that reach over one million viewers throughout Chicago. For more information concerning the pursuit of justice for grandparents’ rights, call Jennifer Whiteside at (312) 296-3666.

The first story of a caring black father that we would like to share is that of our very own Todd Cole, who was recently chosen by the legendary newspaper, The Chicago Defender, as a 2013 “Man of Excellence.” Please read Todd’s story here: http://ourblackheritage.com/index.php/celebrating-black-history/

Gorman and Leving will discuss the recent outbreak of gun violence in our schools and cities, and give solutions to stop the violence.

“The most reliable predictor of crime in America is father absence,” said Attorney Gorman.

About Attorney Maureen Gorman

Attorney Gorman is a highly respected litigator and recently won three Department of Children and Family Services’ appeals in a row. Gorman has decades of complex litigation experience in which she successfully defended government agencies and their employees in civil and constitutional rights cases. She also served as Counsel for the Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. At the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., Gorman applies her sophisticated legal talents and passion for protecting fathers and children to zealously advocating for fathers’ rights in courtrooms and before administrative agencies.

About Attorney Jeffery Leving

Named one of “America’s Best Lawyers” by Forbes Radio™, Jeffery M. Leving (http://dadsrights.com) recently hit #1 on Amazon’s Best Selling Author’s list for his groundbreaking book, Fathers’ Rights.  He also authored Divorce Wars and the newly released and critically acclaimed How to Be a Good Divorced Dad. Leving was recently honored in Resolution No. 995 by the Illinois House of Representatives for his “forward-thinking initiatives in the field of law and father’s rights.” The House of Representatives resolved that Leving “serves as a model of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of Illinois.”  An expert on responsible fatherhood, Leving works tirelessly to educate lawmakers and the public on the disastrous effects of father absence, and to promote father involvement.

About CAN – TV

CAN-TV (Chicago Access Network Television), allows members of the community to voice their opinions on television. CAN-TV has five local, non-commercial channels that reach over 1 million viewers throughout Chicago. For more information, call (312) 795-9060.