Vested Interest - September 2002 Issue

The President’s Thoughts

For over one-hundred years, the presidential election of 1876 was described as the most disputed and contentious election of American political history.

In that election, Samuel J. Tilden won the popular election by 250,000 votes. The initial count of the electoral college was 184 for Tilden and 165 for the Republican, Rutherford B. Hayes. There were 20 disputed electoral votes. A special electoral commission was established to resolve the election. That Commission consisted of five senators, five representatives and five supreme court justices. There were eight Republicans and seven Democrats on the Commission. Rutherford B. Hayes won the election with 185 electoral votes. The Democrats screamed that they were robbed. That election is now relegated to about a paragraph in most current American history textbooks. In 2000, we all lived through a rancorous electoral process that surpassed the Hayes/Tilden affair. Some of us, similarly, exclaimed that we were robbed.

I suspect that one hundred years from now, the Bush/Gore election will receive comparable cursory coverage. I doubt seriously if the Illinois State elections of 2002 will warrant any exceptional historical significance. But for every person concerned about the rights of injured people, this election is tantamount to a political Armageddon. I hardly need to spell out to each of you the realistic opportunity that is presented by this year’s political climate. The exhortation to every member of ITLA is clear - please do everything you can to support those candidates who will protect and expand the rights of people injured by the negligence of others. The last time Illinois government was guided by these principals was twenty-eight years ago. If this unfortunate cycle of Illinois politics repeats itself, many of us may not be around to participate the next time. Let’s seize this opportunity.

On September 14, 2002, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of ITLA at the Ritz Carlton in Chicago. Senator John Edwards (D-North Carolina) will be the keynote speaker. We have a proud and distinctive heritage to honor and reflect upon. I hope many of you will be able to attend.

On August 28, 2002, ITLA Past President Jim Demos died. I had the good fortune to meet Jim early in my career when he was well established as one of the premier plaintiff’s attorneys in Illinois. From our first meeting, he treated me as a respective colleague and a good friend. That type of behavior has always told me something about the character of a person. Throughout his acclaimed career, Jim was a vigorous proponent of our civil justice system and individual rights. He served as ITLA president in 1978-79. Jim Demos was everything that each of us should aspire to emulate. He was a brilliant lawyer, a compassionate advocate and a wonderful human being. That is the highest encomium I can ascribe to a fellow ITLA member. Our profession and our Association are much less for his loss.

Robert J. Bingle, President
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association