For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, BUSINESS, POLITICAL, PLANNING, CITY DESK, FEATURES AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO–October 27, 2008–Chicago-Kent College of Law and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss current issues. To reach experts on IIT’s Downtown Campus, please call Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251. Press releases and earlier advisories are available on our Web site: www.kentlaw.edu/news/advisory.
November 4 is Election Day. Chicago-Kent and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss issues related to the economy, immigration, the Voting Rights Act, presidential power, foreign policy, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the environment.
The First Amendment and the elections. Can voters wear campaign paraphernalia to the polls on election day? Are there rules governing workplace discussions about political campaigns? Can homeowner associations or landlords prohibit the display of campaign signage? Chicago-Kent experts are available for interviews.
What is a constitutional convention? In accordance with the state constitution, Illinois voters will be faced with a ballot referendum asking whether a constitutional convention should be called. Professor Mark D. Rosen, who teaches courses in state and local government and constitutional law, is available for interviews.
Approximately 70 judges are seeking to retain their seats on the Cook County Circuit Court bench. What do judicial evaluations mean? What are the criteria for evaluating judges? What is the difference between a rating "highly qualified" and "well qualified"? Chicago-Kent professor and criminal defense attorney Daniel T. Coyne is president of the Chicago Council of Lawyers, which evaluates candidates for judicial office. Professor Coyne is available to discuss the organization's evaluation process.
Are county jail inmates and convicted felons allowed to vote? In the state of Illinois, convicted felons are allowed to vote as long as they are not in prison or a work-release program. Illinois inmates who are held in county jails on election day may vote by absentee ballot--as long as they have not yet been convicted for the crime for which they have been incarcerated. Professor Mark D. Rosen is available for interviews about Illinois laws related to voting and about the federal Voting Rights Act.
"Voting and jury service are the twin towers of our democratic system," says Chicago-Kent professor Nancy S. Marder, who calls on voters to recommit themselves to jury duty when called. Professor Marder teaches a course on juries, judges and trials, and has written extensively about the American jury system. She is the author Jury Process. Her recent law review articles include Juries, Justice and Multiculturalism and Juries and Technology: Equipping Jurors for the Twenty-First Century. Professor Marder is available for interviews.
What will the results of the 2008 elections mean for labor relations in Illinois? Professor Martin H. Malin, director of Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Workplace, is available to discuss an upcoming discussion at Chicago-Kent's 24th annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Program. (See below.)
The Internet has revolutionized the ways in which candidates connect with potential voters. Candidates have created profiles on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Eons, BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com and GLEE to take their campaigns to where the potential voters are. Voters and supporters visit candidates' Web sites for news, information and to make contributions. Chicago-Kent professor Richard Warner is president of Standards Association for Elections Online (SAFE), a nonprofit organization that develops standards and practices for online campaign activity and endorses third-party monitors who certify campaign Web sites as abiding by SAFE standards. Professor Warner is available for interviews about campaign Web sites.
The Iowa Electronic Markets (IEM) pick the Democrats to win the White House. As of this writing, 84 percent of the investors in the winner-take-all market project a Democratic victory in the presidential elections. The IEM is an online futures market where shareholders can "invest" based on real-world events such as political outcomes. For the November election, there are two real-money futures markets in the IEM 2008 U.S. Presidential Election Markets. In the "Pres08_VS" market, payoffs will be based on the vote shares won by the two major-party candidates; in "Pres08_WTA," a winner-take-all market, payoffs will be determined by the popular vote plurality winner. The IEM also has markets for the congressional elections and the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. Accounts can be opened for amounts between $5 and $500. Traders can then use funds in their accounts to buy and sell contracts. What is the IEM? Is it legal? How accurate has it been in predicting the outcomes of presidential elections? Professor Michael Gorham, director of the Stuart School's Center for Financial Markets, is available for interviews. From 2002 to 2004, Professor Gorham served as the first director of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Market Oversight. The division of 100 economists, lawyers, futures-trading specialists and others was responsible for the designation of new exchanges, the review of new futures and options products, and the protection of markets from manipulation and customer abuse.
Oddsmakers on Internet sites are taking bets on the outcome of the elections. Are these sites legal? Are there state or federal laws to protect online gamblers? "In Illinois and many other states such wagers are against the law. But online gamblers can also leave themselves open to identity fraud and credit card theft by unscrupulous sites," says Dean Harold J. Krent. Dean Krent is available to discuss civil and criminal liability, privacy issues and jurisdictional issues related to online gambling.
Understanding the law through sports. What are the common law origins of the infield fly rule? What is the possible relationship between the integration of major league baseball in 1947 and the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education? How does sports impact property rights, due process and other areas of the law? Sports attorney and adjunct professor Eldon L. Ham is available for interviews. Professor Ham is the author of The 100 Greatest Sports Blunders of All Time.
Downtown Campus Events:
November 14: "The 2008 Elections: What the Results Mean for Labor Relations" is the topic of a keynote address by former Chicago Tribune editor James C. Warren at Chicago-Kent's 24th annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Program. Workshop panelists, including Chicago attorney James Baird of Seyfarth Shaw LLP; Jim Reed, director of government relations, Illinois Education Association; and Chicago attorney James A. Spizzo of Vedder Price, will analyze how the election results will impact public sector labor relations in Illinois. Chicago-Kent's 24th annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Program is designed for lawyers whose practice involves labor law, local government law or school law. It is also for state and local government officials, public education officials, administrators and labor relations officers, union officials, business agents, uniserv directors, arbitrators and mediators. The one-day program is cosponsored by Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Workplace, the Illinois Labor Relations Board and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. For more information and registration, call (312) 906-5090 or visit the Web site: http://www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle/.
November 19: "Wet with Blood." Chicago-Kent distinguished professor and author Lori B. Andrews and Russell Lewis, vice president and chief historian at the Chicago History Museum, will discuss the historical, scientific, ethical and legal issues involved in using President Abraham Lincoln's DNA to authenticate the museum's Lincoln artifacts. The museum's collection includes a cloak, allegedly worn by Mary Todd Lincoln on the night the president was assassinated, that may contain Abraham Lincoln's blood. Questions to be addressed include whether it is appropriate to perform genetic tests on Abraham Lincoln's DNA that might reveal the presence of diseases or disorders and whether such tests would violate the privacy of existing descendants. This program, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 3 p.m. in the law school's 10th floor event room. A reception will follow. "Wet with Blood" is the second in a series of programs sponsored by Chicago-Kent’s Institute for Law and the Humanities under the theme "Connecting to Chicago’s Cultural Institutions."
December 11: 2008 Chicago-Kent Alumni Awards and Recognition Luncheon. Sportscaster and alumnus Bruce Wolf ’81 will serve as master of ceremonies as Chicago-Kent College of Law honors six law school alumni for their professional service and achievement. Dina Merrell ’95, associate director of the Chicago Bar Foundation, and Mary Anne Smith ’77, vice president and general counsel of Illinois Institute of Technology, will receive Distinguished Service Awards. Bruce Kohen ’79, managing partner at Anesi Ozmon Rodin Novak & Kohen Ltd., and Michael Marick ’82, partner at Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson LLP, will receive Professional Achievement Awards. Mark Cumba ’98, associate at Wilson Petty Kosmo & Turner LLP, and Margaret Firnstein ’99, associate at SmithAmundsen LLC, will receive Young Alumni Awards. The law firm of Franczek Radelet & Rose PC will receive the first Chicago-Kent College of Law Institutional Partner Award for its significant impact on the law school and the lives of alumni and students by furthering the growth and development of Chicago-Kent. Dozens of volunteers who have given their time to support law school endeavors during the past two years will also be recognized at the event. The event will be held at the Standard Club, 320 South Plymouth Court, in Chicago. The reception will begin at 11:30 a.m.; the luncheon will begin at noon. To register or for more information, please call (312) 906-5245 or visit www.kentlaw.edu/depts/alums/lunch/ on the Web.
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