19th Judicial Circuit judges to visit local classrooms

WAUKEGAN – In conjunction with the February celebration of the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln, 19th Judicial Circuit judges will be among many Illinois judges to deliver a program to grade school students based on the popular children’s book by Martha Brenner, “Abe Lincoln’s Hat.”

“Abe Lincoln’s Hat” is an illustrated account of the adventures of the nation’s 16th president, revealing the secrets he stored in his tall, black hat. The book portrays Lincoln as an absent-minded frontier lawyer who nudged his memory by sticking letters, court notes, contracts and checkbooks inside his trademark top hat. There are other books that the judges can read to a class as well.

A project of the Illinois Judges Association, the reading program is aimed at children in grades K-4 to encourage reading appreciation, value and enjoyment. Judges dressed in their black robes will make classroom appearances, read the book and discuss its intersection with history and the law. The book will be donated to the school library.

“Too many schoolchildren are not reading at grade level,” said the Honorable Mary Schostok, a justice of the Appellate Court, 2nd District, and former president of the Illinois Judges Association. “This reading deficiency affects student learning and contributes to the high school dropout rate. Our reading project is one small step, which we hope will inspire young students to appreciate the value of books as they learn a little about history and our system of justice directly from a sitting judge.”

Email kvanwey2@lakecountyil.gov if you would like a judge to come to your Lake County classroom to read one of the books provided by the Illinois Judges Association and Illinois Judges Foundation to the students.

The project is the latest in a series of community programs undertaken by the Illinois Judges Association, including the IJA’s Page It Forward reading and tutoring program. Other IJA programs are Courtroom in the Classroom, a presentation that celebrates the U.S. Constitution; 7 Reasons to Leave the Party, covering the legal and personal consequences of drinking and driving, taking drugs and engaging in other unhealthy behaviors; Worries of the World Wide Web, a program created to address the increasing problem of cyberbullying, electronic harassment and sexting/pornography; and Your Future, Your Choice, which educates students about the justice system, how a case goes through the system, what’s the difference between the juvenile and the adult system and what are the crimes associated with the internet and social media.

For more information on the programs, visit the IJA website.