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Law Bulletin Media President Mike Kramer died Monday, Dec. 7, after battling with T-cell lymphoma. Kramer is remembered by colleagues and industry partners as a greater communicator and leader. (Law Bulletin Media file photo)
By MARC KARLINSKY and JOHN McNALLY Law Bulletin Media
Mike Kramer, the president of Law Bulletin Media, died Monday, Dec. 7, at home surrounded by his family after a battle with T-cell lymphoma.
Kramer, 69, spent his life in the news publishing business and joined the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin in 1997, rising to publisher of the newspaper in 2007 and as company president in 2015.
Beyond work at his own company, Kramer filled his time serving in the communities his publications covered. He chaired the government affairs committee for the Illinois Press Association, receiving the IPA’s Distinguished Service Award in 2019. Earlier in his career, as owner of the Minnesota Real Estate Journal, Kramer served as president of the Edina Morningside Rotary Club and chaired a referendum group for his local school district.
Kramer was born in downstate Danville and raised in Gibson City. At Monmouth College in western Illinois, he met Ann Doherty, his wife for the past 46 years.
Don Craven, an attorney in Springfield who serves as legal counsel for the Illinois Press Association, worked with Kramer on many legal and legislative issues throughout their careers. He says Kramer’s generosity and kindness was rooted in life and work.
“He never forgot where he came from,” he said. “He was a Gibson City kid. He reflected those values throughout everything he did.”
The Kramer name was long associated with newspapers in central Illinois. Mike’s grandfather operated papers in Warsaw and Dallas City, and Mike’s father and uncle expanded the family empire to include the Gibson City Courier, the Piatt County Journal-Republican and eight other smaller weekly papers.
Fresh out of college, Mike started as a reporter for the Journal-Republican. He moved to Minnesota, where he was hired to manage the Minnesota Newspaper Association.
In 1985, Kramer launched the Minnesota Real Estate Journal, then spent the next decade starting similar publications in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Mike Szeliga, a sales manager with Law Bulletin Media, began working for Kramer in 1992 at the Minnesota Real Estate Journal. Szeliga always was impressed with Kramer’s willingness to trust the young people who worked for him.
“He promoted a lot of young people in their careers and challenged them,” Szeliga said. “Mike was all about giving people a chance.”
The Kramer family has deep ties to the Macfarlands, the fourth-generation owners of Law Bulletin Media. In the early 1990s, Kramer partnered with Sandy Macfarland — now the CEO of Law Bulletin — to form the Real Estate Information Network, an association of commercial real estate publications.
When the Minneapolis market waned, Kramer approached the Macfarlands to propose a new arrangement: The Law Bulletin would take ownership of the Minnesota publication and use it as a model for other state publications. The deal was signed in 1997, placing Kramer in charge of the company’s real estate publications. He was promoted to vice president at Law Bulletin in 2002.
Sandy Macfarland met Kramer 35 years ago and quickly became a friend.
“After running our own businesses for many years, Mike decided to sell his Real Estate Publishing business in Minnesota to the Law Bulletin and we became associates, which was the start of a closer working relationship and the beginning of becoming best of friends,” he said.
Kramer stepped into the role of publisher for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer magazine in 2007.
Under Kramer’s guidance, CDLB won the Illinois Press Association’s annual General Excellence award in 2014.
In 2015, Kramer was named president of Law Bulletin Media.
“Much of Mike’s success and leadership came from his integrity coupled with his many years of publishing experience,” Macfarland said. “Mike was a caring individual and always made time for anyone who wanted it. He was a wonderful leader who had an open-door policy. You could approach him with personal or business issues and would never make you feel like you are imposing on him.”
Kramer worked closely with Sam Fisher, the IPA’s president and CEO. Fisher will remember Kramer as one of the industry’s best communicators and leaders.
“Mike was everything that newspapers are supposed be. He embodied everything and understood the value of what we do,” Fisher said. “He believed in the value of building relationships — with your readers and community. (He did that better) more than anyone else I know.”
Kramer is survived by his wife, Ann; his daughter, Megan; his son, Andrew; grandchildren Emma, Jackson, Sadie and Natalie; his brother, Mark; his sister, Lisa; and the family dog, Piper.
A memorial service will be held at a later date at the Village Church of Gurnee, and the family will conduct a private burial in Gibson City.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to Love INC of Lake County at loveinclakecounty.org.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 26, 2026 Media Contact Information: Cartwheel Emily Paisner (888) 500-2067 emily.paisner@cartwheelcare.org
$1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois will help Cartwheel scale access to care in rural and underserved communities through 2028
CHICAGO — August 26, 2026 — Cartwheel Care, a telehealth mental health provider for K-12 schools, today announced plans to expand access to care for up to 100,000 students across Illinois, supported by a $1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). The additional funding builds on an existing partnership between Cartwheel and BCBSIL, following a year of strong engagement and clinical outcomes. Cartwheel currently serves 40 Illinois school districts, and the grant will help expand services further into rural and underserved communities across the state through 2028. Mental health needs among Illinois students remain high. According to data from Lurie Children’s Hospital, approximately 50% of Illinois youth (ages 2–17) have experienced worsening mental health symptoms in recent years. At the same time, access to care has not kept pace: more than 80 of Illinois’ 102 counties have no practicing child psychiatrist, and the shortage is most acute in rural areas, where families often wait months for an appointment or travel significant distances for care. Cartwheel’s telehealth model is designed to remove the access barriers rural families face, like long waitlists and the need to travel to see a provider. By partnering with schools, Cartwheel provides licensed, Illinois-based clinicians with no waitlist, accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid, and reaches kids and families where they already are, without requiring them to find or travel to an outside provider. “Every student experiences mental health challenges differently, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to supporting them,” said Dr. Juliana Chen, chief medical officer at Cartwheel. “Our goal is to meet students and families where they are, with practical support that helps them build skills, strengthen relationships, and feel more confident navigating challenges at school and at home. BCBSIL’s support is what allows us to bring that care to more Illinois communities.” “Supporting the health and well-being of Illinois youth is critical to building stronger communities,” said Brian Snell, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “The results we’ve seen through our partnership with Cartwheel demonstrate the impact that timely, accessible mental health services can have for students and families. This investment will help bring those services to even more communities across our state.” To date, four Illinois districts have received Cartwheel’s services through this grant: Steger SD 194 in Cook County and Will County, Troy CCSD 30-C in Will County, Mattoon CUSD 2 in Coles County, and Wolf Branch SD #113 in St. Clair County. In the first year of the program, more than 200 students were referred for care and completed more than 1,000 telehealth sessions. Appointments were scheduled in the same week with no waitlist. Sixty-eight percent of students served were covered by Medicaid or uninsured. Overall, 73% of students showed meaningful improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms on standard clinical screeners (GAD-7/PHQ-9). Additional districts where Cartwheel services are launching this fall include Litchfield CUSD #12, Panhandle CUSD #2, Leyden High School District #212, and Regional Office of Education #40. With the support of this grant, Cartwheel expects to expand into another 30 to 50 school districts, bringing access to care to a total of 100,000 students across Illinois. “Before this partnership, getting a student connected to care could take months,” said Jeffrey Peterson, director of student services & records at Troy CCSD 30-C. “Now our counselors can refer a student, know they’ll be seen within days, and are seeing real improvements as a result.” Through the grant, Cartwheel provides individual and family therapy, parent guidance, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, and specialized care programs for challenges like school avoidance, social media use, and intense emotions and behavior challenges. As reported in Illinois Policy, in 2025 about 25% of Illinois students missed at least 10% of the school year and this was more severe among low-income students, with 35.1% in that group chronically absent. Cartwheel’s school avoidance program delivers evidence-based care designed specifically for students struggling with school avoidance. In partnership with Cartwheel, Peoria Public Schools saw a 62% reduction in absences per student, along with decreases in suspensions and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Illinois school districts that want to learn more about this opportunity for the upcoming school year should visit: www.cartwheel.org/illinois. About Cartwheel Cartwheel is the nation’s largest and most trusted telehealth provider for K-12 schools, students, and families. Cartwheel partners with 350 school districts across 15 states to deliver comprehensive mental health services to students, families, and school staff. Founded in 2022 by educators and clinicians, Cartwheel combines evidence-based clinical care with technology to ensure every child has access to high-quality mental health support. Cartwheel accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid and provides care at no cost to uninsured families. For more information visit: www.cartwheel.org. About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the largest health insurer in Illinois, serving nine million members and operating in all 102 Illinois counties. BCBSIL is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Learn more at bcbsil.com and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 24, 2026 Media Contact Information: Mather Institute Cindy Droog, president, Sabo PR (616) 717-8654 cindy@sabo-pr.com
Free online tool by Mather Institute supports local planning, partnership and investments
EVANSTON, Illinois – Chicago has a new tool to help understand where neighborhood conditions support social wellness among older adults – and where thoughtful investment and partnership may expand opportunities. Mather Institute launched a first-of-its-kind free Social Wellness Map, which scores the 77 community areas in Chicago on social wellness – a measure of feeling connected with others and with a community – for adults 55 and better. Previous research shows strong social ties are one of the most important predictors of a happy and long life, and that neighborhoods and communities shape how people interact, support one another and build shared identity. Mather Institute developed the map in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago. Designed as a planning and advocacy resource, the interactive map can help policymakers, community organizations, funders, planners and service providers explore local patterns, identify assets and consider where new investments may have the greatest benefit for older adults. “Social wellness is a crucial, yet often overlooked, part of healthy aging,” said Cate O’Brien, MPH, Ph.D., chief transformation officer at Mather Institute. “Because every community contains diverse histories, people and experiences, the map is intended to inform – not replace – local knowledge. The most useful next step is conversation. When organizations bring this data together with resident voices, they can better understand what is already working and what could be most beneficial to older adults and their communities.” The map is based on a new survey of more than 4,000 Chicago residents age 55 and better, combined with public data on community conditions, including walkability, economic factors and access to gathering places such as libraries, churches and community centers. Factors such as crime, lack of local businesses and poverty can hinder social wellness, but don’t tell the whole story. Users can view a side-by-side comparison of communities to explore how social wellness relates to health, happiness, income and other factors. Key findings include:
“Community leaders often have deep local knowledge, but need data to support the case for programs, funding and partnerships,” said Jennifer L. Smith, Ph.D., vice president of Mather Institute. “The Social Wellness Map offers another lens for understanding older adults’ experiences and for turning local insight into action.” High social wellness scores were not confined to one part of Chicago or to its wealthiest areas, suggesting that other factors such as neighborhood identity, belonging and longstanding social ties are also important to connection. Chatham emerged as a notable example, with a social wellness score of 8.14 out of 10, illustrating social wellness reflects aspects of community life beyond economic and safety indicators alone. Beverly received the highest community connectability score: 100 out of 100. Beverly is notable for its low crime rates, a strong family culture and several longstanding community gathering places. Jefferson Park stood out for having community conditions that support connection such as accessible transit, retail activity and established cultural gathering places. The map is free to use and does not require user registration. It can be explored at: https://www.matherinstitute.com/social-wellness-map/
About Mather and Mather Institute
Based in Evanston, Illinois, Mather is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1941 that is dedicated to a vision of changing the way society views aging. Mather creates Ways to Age Well℠ through programs, places and residences for today’s older adults. These include developing and operating communities that support older adults in pursuing wellness and fulfillment; sparking creativity and connections for older adults in Chicagoland and beyond; and through Mather Institute, conducting research and incubating innovation to help all live and age well.
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