Back from the West

My darlin and I made it back from a business meeting in the Great Basin National Heritage Area. I have almost caught back up. But the sights were worth it.

OK – wwhhaatt! Mississippi once again tries to screw LGBTQ (and just about everybody else who screws) people!

I am sorry but seeing the competition between Mississippi and Alabama to go ever lower is getting tiring.

Appeal of Mississippi misogynist law!

Religious Accommodation

Ya gotta and shoulda accommodate.

Here is a good list of things to keep in mind:

9 Tips

Posner Retiring

Judge Richard Posner is retiring from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. He will be missed by many. He has always been entertaining. Usually the smartest person in the room, Judge Posner suffered of knowing it. Although more conservative than I would prefer, Judge Posner was not political, and no prisoner to conservative orthodoxy. Lets hope his replacement is half the judge he is.

Ruining it for the Rest of the Police

My police friends often wonder why the general public increasingly disrespects them. This is among the reasons:

Nurse Arrested by Police Ignoring the Law

I don’t practice criminal law at all, but I’ve known for some time that the police cannot generally draw blood without a warrant. Certainly a trained police phlebotomist (and his Lt.) had to know.

When police officers blatantly ignore the law and abuse their powers of arrest,  how can they expect the public to respect them  – and their fellow officers who do at least try to follow the law?

Bad apples need to be thrown away before they spoil the whole barrel. The honest and hardworking police don’t deserve to have their lives made harder by the bad ones.

Students are Not, generally, Employees

Although the analysis is important, and not legally self-evident, I am not surprised that cosmetology students who work in school salons as part of their training are not employees.

See, http://www.wageandhourlawupdate.com/2017/08/articles/wage-and-hour/hair-today-gone-tomorrow-seventh-circuit-rejects-claim-that-cosmetology-trainees-were-employees/

 

Child Support Providing Lawyer Employment!

The new child support formula in Illinois is providing lots of work for Illinois lawyers. What used to be a simple – if unfair – calculation is now complicated. The statute left lots of questions unanswered and we are now trying to fill in the blanks. Thank you legislature.

Saving Lincoln

I attended this afternoon the first public screening of Saving Lincoln, sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Association. Saving Lincoln is an independently produced film sharing a dramatized story of Lincoln and his good friend and “self-appointed protector” Ward Hill Lamon. Laman, originally from the south, was a lawyer who road the old Eighth Circuit  with Lincoln. He became a constant companion and bodyguard to Lincoln in Washington. He was famously absent on the night of Lincoln’s assassination. 

You can tell that this movie is both independently produced, and a work of love. The writer/producer Salvador Litvak was at the screening and his enthusiasm shone from him all through his remarks. The audience, including me, gave the film and Mr. Litvak well deserved standing ovations. 

I encourage you to point your browser to savinglincoln.com to learn more.

Knoxville Courthouse

Dull gray, wet, rainy, windy – not my idea of a day for a road trip  But I am glad I went. Sarah and I attended the Lincoln’s Birthday celebration at the Knoxville Courthouse in Knoxville, IL. When I practiced law in Peoria I often passed through Knoxville and knew the old Knox County Courthouse was still there, but I didn’t know what a gem it was. I found out today.

Built in 1839 and used as the county courthouse until the county seat was moved to Galesburg in 1873, the building is now used as part of the museum complex run by Knox County Historical Sites. The courthouse is built of locally made handmade bricks and local hand finished butternut wood. The building has been extensively rehabbed, especially the 1st floor. A lot of work has been done on the second floor, but you could see the dream in the volunteers’ eyes when they spoke of restoring it to its courtroom glory. Judge Steven Douglas held court there in 1841-43.

Today’s celebration included a reception for Dr. Rodney Davis, and Dr. Douglas Wilson. Both are nationally known Lincoln scholars at Knox College in Galesburg. The professors are nationally acclaimed for their Lincoln Studies Center and their authorship.

For years the old Courthouse housed the entire collection of the Knox County Historical Museum. It still contains many pieces in the old courtroom. But just across the street is the new museum. Climate controlled (unlike the Old Courthouse), which protects a wonderful collection, and containing everything from a buggy used by Abraham Lincoln during the 1858 Senate campaign, to WWII memorabilia, this little museum makes a great impression.

We didn’t have the time to see all that Knoxville offers, and I know there is more. Knoxville has a great gem in its downtown, one well worth a visit.

Looking for Lincoln in Quincy

Traveled to Quincy, Illinois, yesterday with my darlin. Attended a meeting at the wonderful Gardner Museum of Architecture and Design. If you are in Quincy, it is well worth the visit. I have always loved Quincy as it has hung on to much of its older architecture, with buildings from the 1840’s forward.

Unknown to me before yesterday was that Quincy sheltered the Mormans exiled from Missouri in, I believe, 1838-39. Itwas a big deal because not only were Mormans rejected by many people, but there were literally more Morman refugees than residents of Quincy. The Mormans moved on to what was to become Nauvoo, Illinois – and the later persecution and murder of Joseph Smith in 1844 which led to the migration westward.

Quincy also hosts interesting Lincoln era sites. Of course many know that it was one of the Lincoln-Douglas debate sites. But many other connections exist, and there remain the traces of the rivertown importance of the town. Many people forget that during most of Lincoln’s life the  country’s “highways” were in fact its rivers. The important cities were on the  coasts or rivers. That meant places like Quincy were truly bustling and centers of learning and power. At one time Quincy was the second largest city in Illinois. One cannot understand the forces that shaped Abraham Lincoln without appreciating places like Quincy.

Quincy remains a wonderful town. You can feed the empty belly caused by seeing the sites at wonderful eateries like the Patio. Newly discovered by my wife and me, it is long time eatery in Quincy. Homey like only older places can be, it serves what I swear is the world’s largest pork chop. Fully two inches thick and perfectly grilled, as much as I tried I couldn’t finish it. Sarah enjoyed the twice baked and they accomodated my blood sugar with a side of brussels sprouts. The Patio was worth the trip, but is only one of the many delights in Quincy.