The lawsuit against Harrisburg School Dist. 43 was filed in February 1951. Leighton and Willis traveled down from Chicago, meeting a group of parents at the federal court clerk's office in Danville.
The suit demanded the immediate opening of all Harrisburg grade schools to enrollment by black students. Shortly thereafter, the school board moved to settle the case, rather than fight it.
At a preliminary hearing on March 9, the school district offered to allow open enrollment for the school year beginning July 1, 1951.
Lincoln School would remain open for the sixth and lower grades for at least a year for parents who preferred to send their children there. The seventh and eighth grades were in the process of being closed at Lincoln, with black students being sent to the previously all-white junior high school.
Judge Casper S. Platt continued the case until Oct. 1, 1951. He stipulated that if the school board carried out its promise to open all grade schools to blacks, the lawsuit and claim for damages would be dismissed at that time.
Newspaper accounts in the Harrisburg Daily Register were evenhanded in covering the controversy. Stories reported each new development factually, with no apparent attempt to inflame the situation.
Nor was there any indication of public disapproval of the decision by school officials to integrate the schools. The newspaper's publisher, Curtis Small, was a defendant in the lawsuit in his capacity as a member of the school board.
One of the school board's attorneys was George B. Lee. Leighton says he and Lee corresponded for some years after settlement of the case. Each felt he had been part of something important.
Lee went on to a distinguished career as well, serving for many years on the Illinois Supreme Court Character and Fitness Committee for southern Illinois.
Rupert Johnson, a grandson of Ray Johnson, is now selling barbecued meat out of a trailer a few feet from where the old Lincoln School stood on Walnut Street. Rupert has the recipe for Ray's sauce, and sells bottles of it from his trailer and in local grocery stores.
Although the building is long gone, the Lincoln School Association keeps fond memories alive with a well-attended annual reunion. Many alums have a sense of pride in their school, and for the dedicated teachers who taught there in the not-too-distant past.
Congratulations to Mario F. Cirignani, who brought in three new members during the month of January, and kudos to six others who recruited either an additional member or brought in their first new member.
Third Vice-President Irene Bahr, Board of Governors member Joseph Bisceglia, and Alice M. Noble-Allgire each claim one additional new member as of last month. New to the list are recruiters of one member each, Second Vice President Robert K. Downs, Board of Governors member Russell W. Hartigan, and Andrea Georgelos.
Any ISBA member can make the Honor Roll by recruiting just one member--and receive awards to boot. For example, you receive a tote bag or umbrellas for one new member; a coffee mug for two to five new members; and a polo shirt for six or more members.
Recruiting is easy, because you can offer eligible non-members 50 percent off the first year membership. We can also send you a recruitment packet loaded with information that helps you explain the many benefits of membership to your peers.
For more information or to receive the packet, call Ann Boucher at (800) 252-8908 or visit www.isba.org.
PLATINUM STAR RECRUITER
Joseph G. Bisceglia, Chicago (35)
GOLD STAR RECRUITERS
Irene F. Bahr, Wheaton (2)
Mario F. Cirignani, Chicago (3)
Alice M. Noble-Allgire, Carterville (2)
Richard S. Phillips, Chicago (9)
Lawrence J. Weiner, Chicago (4)
SILVER STAR RECRUITERS
Robert O. Ackley, Woodstock
Bonnie A. Barber, Chicago
Thomas P. Conley, Chicago
Hon. Ronald S. Davis, Glencoe
Debra DiMaggio, Chicago
Robert K. Downs, Oak Park
Albert E. Durkin, Chicago
Michael H. Erde, Chicago
David E. Feldman, Chicago
Gregg A. Garofalo, Chicago
Andrea Georgelos, La Grange
Peter F. Geraci, Chicago
Gunnar J. Gitlin, Woodstock
Joel M. Goldstein, Chicago
Katherine A. Grosh, Chicago
Russell W. Hartigan, Chicago
Brent D. Holmes, Mattoon
Paul R. Jenen, Wheeling
Amy Jorgensen Kain, North Aurora
Mark L. Karno, Chicago
Terrence J. Lavin, Chicago
Lance R. Mallon, Wood River
Dennis J. Orsey, Granite City
Ole Bly Pace III, Sterling
Susan G. Patino, Evanston
Kerry R. Peck, Chicago
Edward D. Rickert, Downers Grove
Theodore Rodes Jr., Chicago
Julie Ann Sebastian, River Forest
Jennifer A. Shaw, Edwardsville
David B. Sosin, Palos Heights
Letitia Spunar-Sheats, Chicago
Bernard J. Toussaint III, Oak Brook
Hon. Edna Turkington-Viktora, Chicago
Louis A. Varchetto, Wheaton
Thank you all!
Internet-age litigation enters classrooms
Extensively detailed ISBA Law Ed Series seminars on "Intellectual Property and the Classroom" will be presented from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 5, in the Chicago Regional Office, and Friday, April 2, at the Holiday Inn, Collinsville.
Subtitled "Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and Litigation in the Internet Age," the seminar is coordinated by Steven L. Baron of Mandell, Menkes & Surdyk, chair of the Intellectual Property Section Council, who also will be the moderator.
The program will begin with an Intellectual Property Overview by section council member Joseph T. Nabor of Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery, Chicago. The schedule follows.
9:20 a.m. Copyright Basics, with section council member Eugene F. Friedman of Friedman & Friedman, Chicago, and Steven J. Helle of Urbana, an attorney and journalism professor at the University of Illinois.
Friedman and Helle will define the subject matter of a copyright, when it is created, how long it lasts, how and why to register it, what types of rights it grants, and issues of infringement, remedies, fair use and other defenses.
9:40 a.m. Fair Use in the Classroom, with Eugene Friedman and Prof. Peter B. Maggs of the University of Illinois College of Law (Chicago only). The discussion includes agreements on guidelines for classroom copying, and when and how to obtain clearance or permission.
10:15 a.m. Ownership Issues, with section council newsletter editor Daniel L. Kegan of Kegan & Kegan, Chicago. He will review ownership of works, works for hire and works by faculty and students.
10:35 a.m. Distance Learning, with Steven Baron; intellectual property issues that emerge, patent claims over streaming media, and college vs. high school issues of the TEACH Act.
10:55 a.m. Peer-to-Peer File Sharing, with Steven Baron and Joseph F. Marinelli of Jenner & Block, Chicago. They will cover the state of the law on fair use, liability of schools for acts of students, handling subpoenas and lawsuits, unpronounceable names, and the future of file sharing among peers.
11:15 a.m. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, with section council member Charles L. Mudd, president of Privacy Resolutions, Chicago. Issues include notice and take down, anti-circumvention provisions, the impact in the classroom, and safe harbors.
11:35 a.m. Trademark Issues, with Daniel Kegan and section council vice chair Aaron W. Brooks of Holmstrom & Kennedy, Rockford; trademark basics, student awareness of trademark rights, and logos, mascots and other reasons to litigate.
1 p.m. Patent Issues, with Joseph Marinelli and section council newsletter co-editor Leon I. Edelson of Levenfeld Pearlstein, Chicago; patent basics, ownership issues, and universities as high-tech incubators.
1:20 p.m. Privacy Issues, with Steven Baron and section council member Stephen G. Kehoe of Bellows & Bellows, Chicago; privacy in the age of e-mail and blogs, student-faculty communications, electronic attendance, and the school as an ISP.
1:40 p.m. Trade Secrets, with Joseph Nabor, who will answer the questions of what is a trade secret, how is it protected, what happens when it is lost, and whether trade secrets can exist in academia.
2:15 p.m. Issues in Information Technology Administration, with section council past chair David J. Loundy, corporate counsel for Devon Bank, Chicago. He will discuss viruses and who is responsible for hackers, security with passwords and beyond, acceptable use policies, and parity among rich and poor schools.
2:35 p.m. Licensing of Intellectual Property, with Leon Edelson.
2:55 p.m. - Ethical Issues in Representing Clients in Education, with Eugene Friedman and section council secretary Amanda D. Howland of Lake Zurich; identifying the client and conflicts of interest.
Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers
2003/2004
Harris H. Agnew
Robert P. Cummins
Sharon L. Eiseman
Anthony J. Fornelli
Patrick J. Hughes Jr.
Martin H. Katz
Patrick T. Murphy
Charles L. Palmer
Neil K. Quinn
Keith E. Roberts Jr.
Thomas P. Sullivan
James B. Wham
2002/2003
Barry S. Alberts
James T. Demos*
Joseph N. DuCanto
Theodora Gordon*
Dolores K. Hanna
Elmer Jenkins
Harold Levine*
Prentice H. Marshall
Madalyn Maxwell
Nat P. Ozmon
William R. Quinlan
Anthony C. Raccuglia
2001/2002
Stanley B. Balbach
C. Allen Bock*
William F. Costigan
F. Dennis France*
H. Joseph Gitlin
Harold Hannah*
Jerald E. Jackson
Esther O. Kegan
Terence F. MacCarthy
Ronald S. Miller
Daniel M. Moore Jr.
William C. Murphy
2000/2001
James J. Ahern
Eugene Crane
James J. Elson Sr.
Thomas A. Foran*
Theodore A. Gottfried
Harlan Heller
Harold Katz
Mary Lee Leahy
George N. Leighton
Francis X. Riley
Jerold S. Solovy
Willis R. Tribler
1999
Kennard J. Besse*
Robert E. Bradney
Philip H. Corboy
Ivan A. Elliott Jr.*
Thomas F. Geraghty
Richard O. Hart
John T. Holmstrom Jr.
Warren Lupel
Martha A. Mills
James D. Montgomery
Esther R. Rothstein*
James R. Thompson
Keith Roberts, 2004 Laureate, is 'Atticus Finch incarnate'
By Kelly Scotti
"We really don't like lawyers from Chicago," the presiding judge said at the conclusion of a trial in Knoxville, Tenn. "But, Mr. Roberts, you can come back any time."
According to his colleagues, this is the legacy imparted by Wheaton attorney Keith E. Roberts Sr., a 2004 Laureate of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers, and the response he has evoked after every encounter of his professional career.
Just open the DuPage County Bar Association directory and drop your finger onto a name. Mention Keith Roberts, and even those who have never had the opportunity to work with him are aware of his contributions during the past 50 years.
"Keith Roberts embodies all the qualities that lawyers ought to have. He is Atticus Finch incarnate," said 18th Circuit Judge Robert Anderson, who nominated Roberts for the Laureate. "He is generous beyond comparison with his time and his talent, and he is the man who always does the right thing all of the time."
Michael R. Galasso of Schiller, DuCanto & Fleck in Wheaton, a retired judge who offered a letter of support for the nomination, concurs with Anderson's assessment.
"Keith is the epitome of a lawyer's lawyer who always acts with civility and complete understanding of the law," Galasso said. "He is always most generous with his knowledge and skills.