Robert R. Fuenty, a former assistant state's attorney in Rockford and Chicago, has returned to the Winnebago County felony trial team.
Robert McBride of Henry, a former Marshall County assistant public defender, has become an assistant Woodford County state's attorney. He previously practiced in Chillicothe.
James E. Fitzgerald now heads the Cook County state's attorney's Criminal Appeals Division. He succeeds Renee G. Goldfarb, a new Cook County associate judge.
John A. Ouska III has been appointed chief of the Cook County state's attorney's General Litigation Division. New Civil Actions Bureau supervisors are Donald J. Pechous, Tort/Civil Rights Section; Gregory E. Vaci, Labor and Employment Section, and Sandra J. Weber, Medical Litigation Section.
Other new positions
Michael K. Fridkin of Chicago has been named senior staff attorney of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. He has been director of the Employment Opportunity Project of the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and deputy chief of the Illinois attorney general's Special Litigation Bureau.
Watseka attorney Dale Strough has been appointed Iroquois County public defender. An assistant public defender since 2003, he also has been Watseka city attorney.
Jesus Reyes has been appointed acting chief probation officer for the Cook County Circuit Court Adult Probation Department. He will continue his six-year service as director of the court's Social Service Department.
Returning to action
Cook County Judge Sheldon C. Garber returned to the Housing Court bench on Aug. 1 after several weeks of recovery from surgery to amputate his left leg due to diabetes.
Q: Tonight a well-respected speaker said that taking a certain action "will result in more terror and attacks, not less terror and attacks." In a sentence like this, with one count-noun (attacks) and one non-count noun (terror) in a sentence, is it appropriate to use "less" or "fewer" to modify both nouns?
A: Before answering, I should compliment Mr. Rafi Arbel, who knows what count and non-count nouns are, and should clarify for readers who don't. Count nouns are more common in English. They are nouns that have plural forms (peach/peaches, book/books, table/tables, etc.). They are countable (one peach, two peaches), and are usually divisible into units (half a peach), and in statements, count nouns must be preceded (in the singular) with either a or the (a person; the picture).
Non-count nouns have no plurals. They are nouns like contentment, rice and information. They do not have plurals: One does not speak of "contentments, informations," or "rices." They are not divisible into units; one does not say "half a contentment." And they do not require the articles a or the to precede them. One can say "Information is needed," but not "Book is needed."
This explains the problem Mr. Arbel's has identified in the speaker's statement: "Attacks" is a count noun and "terror" is a non-count noun. So the sentence would have to be re-drafted to become, "Taking a certain action will result in more terror and attacks, not less terror and fewer attacks." Another problem with the speaker's statement is not grammatical, but semantic. The word the speaker should have used is not terror but terrorism. Terrorism describes behavior; terror describes the effect of terrorism. Journalists often use the two words as synonyms, but they are not.
Mr. Arbel also commented on a similar problem: He writes, "My understanding is that the word less can modify some count nouns, as in 'I have less than $20.'" It is true that the noun dollar is a count noun and therefore one would expect "I have fewer than $20." But in this context, dollar is considered a collective noun, not a count noun; and like other collective nouns (committee, group, etc.) is thought of as a unit. Other nouns referring to amounts of money are also considered collective nouns: "I have fifty cents; would you settle for that (not those)."
To add to the confusion, some nouns can be either count or non-count, depending on the context. For example, consideration can be a count noun: "One consideration is the defendant's feeling of fright." But it is a non-count noun in the statement: "Consideration must be given to other factors as well." Other nouns that have dual status are nouns like difficulty, forgiveness, and interest. And traditional non-count nouns have slid into the count category; for example, psychologists began pluralizing behavior in their case studies, and now everyone talks of behaviors.
To modify count nouns, use the adjectives many and few (many ideas, few actions); to modify non-count nouns, use much and little (much difficulty; little success). Compare much pleasure; many joys; little appreciation; few rewards. But the adjective more can be used to modify both count and non-count nouns: more rice; more peas.
But many English speakers ignore the rules for non-count nouns. Mr. Arbel wrote that in one store a sign states that customers with "fewer than 20 items" can use an express line. However, in another store, only customers with "less than 20 items" can use the express line. The local newspaper reported sometime ago that one woman became so annoyed at the misuse of less/ fewer that she vowed never to patronize stores whose signs read "Customers with less than 20 items...."
FROM THE MAILBAG:
In the July "Language Tips," after responding to a reader's question about the use of the honorific "Esq.," I promised to include some of the mail I received from readers after answering in a previous column a similar question a reader had sent. Here are some of the readers's responses.
A New York reader wrote, "I've just received a letter from an underwriter for a title insurance fund signed, "John Doe, Esq." What am I missing here? Surely this sort of self-laudation is part of lawyers' public perception problem."
Other readers agreed. One lawyer wrote that he considered it poor style for lawyers to call themselves "Esq." and even worse taste to put the title on their letterhead. Other letters were even stronger. One lawyer wrote that she had "nothing but contempt for this offensive practice." Another wrote that the attempt to "legitimize aggrandizement" was "absolute nonsense." And another lawyer commented that "anyone who calls himself a gentleman probably isn't."
Some lawyers wrote that they do not oppose the practice of awarding the honorific "Esq." to other lawyers (and one added "to avoid censure"), but that to refer to oneself as "Esq." "exacerbated the impression that lawyers are a posturing, self-serving group."
However, this opinion was not unanimous. A New Jersey lawyer wrote that as a tax attorney for an insurance company, he requested that he be identified as "Counsel," a request that the company rejected. His remaining options were to use either "J.D." (L.L.M), or "Esq." And he asked, "Do you know of anyone outside the legal profession who knows what J.D. and L.L.M mean?" And another lawyer wrote that through usage and custom, the "Esq." has been synonymous with "attorney." He added, "In fact, to many in criminal practice, be they attorneys or criminals, J.D. is most closely associated with juvenile delinquent or "John or Jane Doe."
Finally, one reader wrote:
"Bravo to my colleague, who, with wild abandon of political and social correctness, defends the use of "Esq." by admitted attorneys .... There is a beneficial purpose to be served by authorizing the whole usage of this term. The public does not recognize its proper usage, and it's quite our job to make it otherwise. ... If we, as attorneys, use the term in our own correspondence, mailing labels, computer programs and the like, the designation will take on its proper importance in everyday society. Today, "Esq." tomorrow, our own license plates!
Is that the final word on the subject?
Gertrude Block is Lecturer Emerita at the University of Florida College of Law. Her book ,"Legal Writing Advice: Questions and Answers" (William S. Hein & Co., Inc.) was published in December 2004. Ms. Block is also author of "Effective Legal Writing", 5th Edition (Foundation Press), with an accompanying instructor's manual. She is co-author of the "Judicial Opinion Writing Manual" (published by the American Bar Association, 1991). Send questions to the ISBA Bar News Language Tips, Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Bar Center, Springfield, IL 62701, or e-mail her at block@law.ufl.edu.
Members of the Chicago Bar Association will fete President Michael B. Hyman and Young Lawyers Section chair Carolyn D. Amadon during a gala reception from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, in the McKinlock Court Garden at The Art Institute of Chicago. The event includes a private viewing of the exhibit, "Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre."
The sixth annual CBA John Paul Stevens Award luncheon will take place Thursday, Sept. 15, at the Standard Club. Call (312) 554-2057 for reservations to either event.
Cook County Bar
Cook County Bar Association members joined President Bruce L. Cook in mourning the death on July 24 of his wife, Camille Cook, who drowned while swimming in Lake Michigan.
DuPage County Bar
The DuPage County Bar Association will hold a fall wine-tasting reception on Thursday, Sept. 15, at Weber Grill in Lombard. Call (630) 653-7779.
DuPage County Lawyers Lending a Hand will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at DuPage County Animal Control in Wheaton to help groom and walk animals. They also will assist in an appreciation barbecue for 9/11 victims on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Indian Boundary YMCA, Downers Grove.
Illinois Judicial Council
The annual installation and awards banquet of the Illinois Judicial Council will begin at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, in the Empire Room of the Palmer House Hilton. The KCR Ensemble will provide a jazz concert. Call Judge Sybil C. Thomas at (312) 433-6916.
Illinois Paralegal
The South Suburban Section of the Illinois Paralegal Association will have a Night at the Races on Saturday, Sept. 24, at Balmoral Park in Crete. Post time is 7:40 p.m., and a buffet dinner will be available from 6 to 10 p.m. Call (815) 462-4620.
Illinois Trial Lawyers
The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association will hold its annual Southern Illinois judicial and legislative dinner Friday, Sept. 16, at the Marriott Downtown Hotel, St. Louis. Call (800) 252-8501.
ITLA's 1st District Judicial and Legislative Night dinner will take place Monday, Sept. 26, in the Mid-America Club, Chicago.
Inns of Court
New officers of the Peoria-based Abraham Lincoln Inn of Court are President Matthew S. Hefflefinger, President-elect Valerie Moehle Umholtz, Secretary-Treasurer Mark E. Wertz and Counselor Gregory S. Bell. Associate Judge Jerelyn D. Maher is judicial liaison.
Jewish Judges
The Jewish Judges Association will hold its annual installation and awards dinner on Sunday, Sept. 18 at the Doubletree Suites, Skokie. Call Judge Sheldon Gardner at (312) 603-4866.
Chicago attorney Yulia Kislyuk will speak to the association during a luncheon Tuesday, Sept. 20, in the ISBA Chicago Regional Office. Her topic is "The Journey of a Jew from Russia to the United States."
Kane County Bar
New officers of the Kane County Bar Association are President Michael C. Doyen of Elgin, Vice Presidents Robert J. Britz and Patrick M. Flaherty, and Secretary-Treasurer David E. Camic.
Lake County Women
Nancy Mullen, executive director of the Questioning Youth Center, will speak about teenage sexuality to the Association of Women Attorneys of Lake County during a luncheon Wednesday, Sept. 7, at Potesta's Restaurant, Waukegan. Call President Marjorie Sher at (847) 249-2830.
Northwest Suburban Bar
Retiring Cook County Judge Nicholas T. Pomaro will be honored by the Northwest Suburban Bar Association during a reception and dinner Thursday, Aug. 25, at Meridian Banquets in Rolling Meadows. Call (847) 259-7908.
NWSBA members will enjoy a Day at the Races on Friday, Sept. 9, in the International Room at the Arlington International Racecourse. Luncheon will be available from 2 to 6 p.m.
Sangamon County Bar
New officers of the Sangamon County Bar Association are President Scott A. Sabin of Springfield, Vice Presidents Dan Kepner and Roma Larson, Secretary Dave Herman and Treasurer Michael Mannion.
South Suburban Bar
Chicago attorney Kari A. Legg will discuss employment law aspects during a dinner meeting of the South Suburban Bar Association on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the Glenwood Oaks Restaurant, Glenwood. Call Thomas C. Edwards at (708) 957-1500.
West Suburban Bar
The West Suburban Bar Association has scheduled a summer luau barbecue at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at LaGrange Country Club. Call (708) 366-1122.
Women's Bar of Illinois
A deadline of Sept. 6 has been set by the Women's Bar Association of Illinois for nominations to be submitted for Women with Vision Award recipients in several categories. Call Jessica O'Brien, (312) 814-1016, for criteria and information.
The awards will be presented Wednesday, Nov. 9, during the annual Joint Professional Dinner at the Mid-Day Club, Chicago.
Sept. 6 is also the deadline to sign up for the 10th annual WBAI "No Threat, No Sweat" golf outing, which will take place Monday, Sept. 19, at Oak Meadows Golf Club, Addison. Luncheon at 12 noon will precede the 1 p.m. shotgun start. Call (312) 341-8530.
Justinian Society to honor Silvestri, install Marino
The Justinian Society of Lawyers will present its Award of Excellence to Chicago attorney Peter N. Silvestri during the annual dinner Thursday, Sept. 15, at the Palmer House Hilton.
A 1982 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, Silvestri has been president of the Village of Elmwood Park since 1989 and a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners since 1994. He chairs the Zoning and Building Committee and is vice chair of several others.
The society also will honor State Rep. Angelo "Skip" Saviano, an Elmwood Park Republican, with the inaugural Moses W. Harrison Award of Recognition for dedication to improvement of the Italian-American condition.