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312-578-9501 | www.shannonlawgroup.com JANUARY 2018
LEARN TO DO GOOD, MAKE JUSTICE YOUR AIM
“…Learn to do good, make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow…” Isaiah 1:17 On January 17, 2018, my son Will and I will board buses along with about 130 of his high school classmates and head to Washington D.C. for the March for Life. Why do we (along with hundreds of thousands of others) travel hundreds of miles on buses from all over the country in the middle of winter? Because it’s the right thing to do. Let me fill you in on my upbringing. My folks had 10 kids. As child number 9, I am thankful, in fact exhilarated, that my mother and father wanted me around even though my parents’ yearly income at the time was probably about $15,000. After I was born, my parents and family had the honor and privilege of feeding me, carrying me, changing me, and taking care of me 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Then, the real test began. When I became a teenager, my parents really had a handful with me. Thank you to my mom and dad and siblings for putting up with me. I believe human beings deserve legal protection from the time we are really small until the time we die naturally of old age. As a child, I was utterly dependent on my family to take care of me. When I get old, I will once again be dependent on the grace of another human being to care for me. These are facts for everyone, rich and poor, men and women, all races, and all religions. This is a fact for my 96-year-old father who lives with my sister Mary Jo and for my terrific siblings who are constantly sharing Dad’s life journey with him.
more about right and wrong from our actions. I confess to being a continuing work in progress as a husband and a father. Just like when I was a high schooler, I constantly need reminders of right and wrong. I continually fall down on the job. However, I firmly believe that each and every human being has something to contribute. America only works when all of us are involved in supporting, empowering and standing up for each other, especially the most vulnerable. At the beginning of each year, when I see hundreds of thousands of young people traveling to our nation’s capital to stand up for their brothers and sisters, it makes me proud of this great country and hopeful for a greater and more compassionate future for our children. In our work here at the firm, we represent people who are extremely vulnerable: the permanently disabled, kids with cerebral palsy, children who have lost a parent, parents who have lost children, and mesothelioma victims. Each and every one of these people has intrinsic dignity. Each deserves our utmost respect. It is our mission to protect the vulnerable when they need us most. We renew our commitment in 2018 to zealously protect those who entrust us with their care. We begin that journey by standing up for the most vulnerable. We hope you have a terrific 2018.
–Joe Shannon
I am first and foremost in my life a husband and father. Our children listen to what we say. However, our children learn
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Every parent wants to see their child do well in school, and there’s one fun activity that benefits students of all ages: reading. In a world with so much stimulation, however, it can be difficult to motivate kids to put down a screen and pick up a book. New Year’s resolutions are the perfect opportunity to make reading a priority. Here are a few tips to make 2018 the year your kids become bookworms. MAKE IT A FAMILY RESOLUTION There’s no better motivator than solidarity! Plus, we’re guessing everyone in your household could stand to read a little more. You don’t have to read the same books or set identical goals, but it’s a lot more fun when everyone participates. Schedule weekly reading discussions so everyone can share the cool stories they’ve read. Stack your completed books in your house somewhere as a monument to all the knowledge your family has gained. SET REWARD MILESTONES Positive reinforcement will propel your kids to keep reading long after the calendars have turned. For a certain number of books completed or hours spent reading, offer them a prize. You can even create a big end goal to really cement those reading habits. Better yet, set a combined goal that the entire family can work toward. Don’t be afraid to pull
out all the stops. If your kids know that reading one book per week through June means an extra-special summer vacation, their enthusiasm won’t wane come spring. USE READING APPS Goodreads is a social network for bibliophiles. You can find recommendations, share ratings, and create lists of both completed and to-be-read books. Users also create reading lists based on topic, genre, decade, and more. With over 2 billion books added, you’ll never run out of inspiration. Biblionasium offers the same services, but it’s designed specifically for children. Talk to other parents and create a network of friends and classmates. After all, nothing is cooler to a kid than what their friends are doing.
Avid readers tend to do better academically from kindergarten through college. In fact, a study from the Journal of Education and Practice found that reading comprehension predicted success in other subjects more than any other factor. If you want to see improved report cards, make a reading resolution for your entire household.
JANUARY GARDEN CHORES By Kate Refine
As a Midwest gardener, I secretly enjoy the winter — it’s a time when I don’t have to work in the garden. Rather, winter allows me the time to be productive in my idleness by daydreaming of what the possibilities of spring could portend for my landscape. I often find myself staring out at my winter garden and taking stock of the beds. Without the leaves on the shrubs and trees, it’s easy to discern the shape of the garden beds and determine whether they need to be redefined. Also, I can see if our garden appears too empty in winter. If so, adding ornamental grasses or evergreen perennials or shrubs in the spring will lend interest to the winter garden.
If you tire of your idleness, and the weather permits, late January is a good time to prune back many deciduous trees and shrubs as they are in their dormancy. (You don’t want to trim back early spring-blooming shrubs, though; wait until after they bloom to clean them up.) Remove dead limbs, crossing branches, and control for size if you want. Bring some of the branches of forsythia, dogwood, or witch hazel indoors to force blooms inside.
Finally, enjoy the winter, read through your favorite garden magazines and seed catalogs, and dream of spring.
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THANK YOU FOR THE HONOR OF SERVING YOU IN 2017
by Pat Cummings
Many clients who come in to meet with us for the first time are entrenched in one of the most difficult and confusing times of their lives. Usually, our client or their close family member has suffered devastating injuries or illnesses as a result of a truck or auto crash, asbestos exposure, or a vaccine side effect. When they walk through our door, almost none of our clients have any experience with litigation. The defendants, on the other hand — large trucking operations, manufacturing corporations, and insurance companies — litigate cases every single day. This imbalance can leave clients feeling powerless. That’s where we can be of service: Our job is to level the playing field. Most companies are ethical and try to do the right thing. However, there are exceptions. For example, during cases we handled in 2017, we have seen companies put their bottom line ahead of the safety and well-being of everyday folks like you and me. We’ve seen trucking companies cut costs by not vetting dangerous drivers. We’ve seen manufacturing corporations knowingly expose workers to exceedingly dangerous substances like asbestos. We’ve seen financial institutions cook the books and retaliate against
whistleblowers. We’ve seen insurance companies misrepresent how much insurance coverage is available to our clients. At our firm, we relish in the opportunity to level the playing field for our clients. The law offers many protections for everyday people like you and me. One of the great joys of my job happens when we can utilize these protections to obtain a fantastic result for our clients. In addition to protecting our clients’ legal rights, however, we also strive to help our clients’ emotional well- being. With every client we have, our firm aims to shoulder the burden and stress of a lawsuit so our clients can get back to what’s important — taking care of themselves and their families. We understand what a tremendous honor it is to represent people who call us in their greatest time of need. We are humbled by your expression of confidence in us. Thank you for allowing us to serve you in 2017. We look forward to working together in 2018.
JANUARY 2018 DATES OF CONSEQUENCE
SLOW COOKER RASPBERRY WHITE HOT CHOCOLATE Looking for a way to prepare a warm treat for the kids while they’re out building snowmen? Break out the slow cooker and enjoy the best hot cocoa you’ve ever had!
January 4
Feast Day of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Directions 1. In a slow cooker, combine white
Ingredients • 1 cup white chocolate chips • 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk • 2 cups heavy cream, divided • 3 cups milk (any variety will do) • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 4 tablespoons raspberry liqueur or syrup
January 7
Feast of the Epiphany
January 7
Nora basketball at St. Mary’s Plainfield
chocolate chips, condensed milk, 1 cup cream, and milk. Cover and heat on low about 2 hours. 2. In a large bowl, mix remaining 1 cup cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. 3. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip until stiff peaks form. 4. Serve mugs of hot chocolate with about 1 tablespoon of raspberry liqueur or syrup to taste and a dollop of whipped cream.
January 8
St. Joan of Arc classes resume
January 13
North Carolina at Notre Dame Basketball
January 16
University of Illinois and Marquette classes resume
Recipe inspired by SlowCookerGourmet.net
January 23
Benet Swimming at St. Viator
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Phone: 312-578-9501 www.shannonlawgroup.com
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
page 1
Learn to Do Good, Make Justice Your Aim
page 2
The Resolution That Leads to Better Grades
page 2
January Garden Chores
page 3
A Big Thank-You
page 3
Warm Up With Some Hot Cocoa
page 4
Books to Inspire You in the New Year
YOUR READING LIST FOR 2018
Here are a few books I recommend: DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC: A TALE OF MADNESS, MEDICINE AND THE MURDER OF A PRESIDENT by Candice Millard
DEEP WORK: RULES FOR FOCUSED SUCCESS IN A DISTRACTED WORLD by Cal Newport As our lives become increasingly electronic, we find ourselves more and more addicted to mobile telephones and electronic mail. As a result, productivity plummets. This is not a good thing. It was a good time for all of us at the firm to read Cal Newport’s
I had read absolutely nothing about President James Garfield before I picked up this book. Candice Millard’s research reveals the fascinating rise of Ohio native James Garfield from poverty scholar to professor, Civil
War general, congressman, and finally reluctant presidential candidate. Although he was assassinated within 100 days of his inauguration, this story is an intriguing one. I especially enjoyed how President Garfield’s life entwined with the brilliant Alexander Graham Bell and his mission to develop a metal detector to find the bullet lodged in President Garfield’s body. Highly recommended.
Deep Work. Mr. Newport takes the distraction environment head on and provides specific methods to avoid outside distraction and to make us more productive. His thesis is that cultivating a “deep work” ethic produces huge benefits and a more fulfilling life. Newport then gives the reader strategies to adopt productive habits to support a practice of “deep work.” Thank you to my friend and avid reader Ben Glass from Fairfax, Virginia, for referring this book to me. Highly recommended.
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