SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court will convene in special session Monday to honor the accomplishments of Abraham Lincoln during the 200th anniversary year of his birth, and receive a specially rendered bust presented by the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA).
The bronze bust, rendered by John McClarey of Decatur, an internationally recognized Lincoln sculptor, depicts Lincoln during his years as a practicing member of the Illinois bar. The ISBA is presenting the sculpture to the Supreme Court as a gift to the citizens of Illinois on behalf of its lawyers.
Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald will preside at the ceremony at 3 p.m. in the Supreme Court Courtroom in Springfield.
McClarey will be among some 100 invited guests attending the ceremony. ISBA President Jack C. Carey will make the presentation, and the bust, titled "Prairie Lawyer, Master of Us All," will be permanently displayed in the Supreme Court building.
McClarey is considered an extraordinarily gifted sculptor who concentrates primarily on the form of Abraham Lincoln. His Lincoln statutes, which are located in numerous communities throughout the state and nation, are conceived around unique symbolic details.
For example, "Prairie Lawyer" portrays a thoughtful Lincoln, chin resting in hand, as he would have appeared in his last year of law practice in 1859, just before his entering the race for the presidency.