Features

Agency addressing injustice in legal system celebrates 15th anniversary

[MARCH 3, 2003]  Citizens For Justice, based in Lincoln, are celebrating their 15th anniversary today, Monday, March 3. Citizens For Justice, Inc. is a legal reform group that is committed to constructive change in the legal system. They lobby both our state and federal legislators annually regarding issues such as tort reform. Lester C. Van Bibber, III serves as president of the agency.

Van Bibber explains that Citizens For Justice was born out of frustration. It was formed in response to an experience that entailed seven years of ongoing litigation in what he believed was an unjust legal system gone wild. After that, he said, "We decided to organize a group of dedicated citizens who had experienced similar injustices and began donating time and energy to improving the legal system."

After research at the public library we learned about the ARDC, the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, an agency that disciplines attorneys, Van Bibber said. The group also discovered the JIB, the Judicial Inquiry Board, an agency that disciplines judges. By encouraging utilization of the ARDC and the JIB, we believe changes for the improvement of the local legal system will occur more rapidly, he said.

Changes to improve the legal system are what Citizens For Justice is all about. They say they have discovered and are continuing to discover avenues for constructive change.

This year the group's focus was directed at our federal legislators. They worked to introduce legislation that will limit lawsuits on businesses with 50 or fewer employees. "We believe this is very important because it is businesses and industry of this size that now creates 90 percent of the new jobs in America," Van Bibber said.

He explained: We are asking that a cap be placed on punitive damages at three times the compensatory damage award. We also believe that punitive awards should go to each state’s general fund and not to the plaintiffs and the plaintiffs’ attorney, because punitive damages are meant to punish and deter, very similar in purpose to criminal fines. The plaintiffs don't receive any of the criminal fine money which is received, for the same reason as punitive damage.

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"We believe this law will also help businesses and industry of all sizes," he said.

Van Bibber asks, "Why should attorneys be allowed a substantial share of the punitive damages as fees anyway, since no one has appointed attorneys as representatives of the republic to mete out punishment to the country’s businesses and citizens?"

Van Bibber said, "In 1988 I made a personal commitment to be a voice or a spokesperson and watchdog during the rest of my life, for those in our community who are poor, uneducated, widowed, those who may have given up on life or maybe are part of the silent majority regarding issues of importance that will affect them, like sales tax increases, fee increases, property tax increases, utility rate increases, etc."

"History will judge all of us on how we treat those on the bottom half of the ladder of success. I want it said that I, Les Van Bibber, was part of the solution and not part of the problem."

We believe your support with our efforts will make this great city, county, state and country a better place to live and prosper for everyone, he added.

[Press release and LDN]

Is this the right time
to go into business?

By Jim Youngquist

[FEB. 28, 2003]  Tough times continue to be upon us in the small-business community. Our lagging national economy has certainly been hard on small and large businesses here in the Midwest over the last two years. Every business has felt the crunch, and many have been forced to fold. Even the most stable business has suffered from diminished cash flow, diminished profits and greater competition cutting up a much smaller pie. Business analysts are split on when the recovery will come, and the stock market reflects the public's greatly diminished confidence in business' ability to recover.

In light of this dismal economy, what do you do if you have entrepreneurial ideas and urges? Is this a good time to start a business? Do you wait? Do you discard your plans? Do you purge your urge?

In my experience, downbeat economic times can actually be an excellent time to start a new business. Over my lifetime I have started five businesses, still am running three of them, and have helped many other people start businesses during economically blue times. The secret to success may not be in your analysis of the business climate as much as having the right method and planning for your upcoming enterprise.

First of all, during a downbeat economy, business is generally at the bottom. Everything is usually up from there! If you start a business in that climate with conservative efforts, very conservative money, and survive while business is bad, most likely your business will thrive when economic times get better. The key here is to start with a well-organized business plan that is reliant on very conservative projections and very conservative spending to accomplish your goals. And when the economy gets better, stick to your conservative plan with conservative expansion, because an upbeat economy is a short-lived thing.

Second, start small and grow it. Most businesses are begun on a shoestring: tiny little enterprises that grow out of personal interests or hobbies. They get started while you don't have to rely on them for income. You establish a product line, network with suppliers, gather customers and plan for the future in your spare time, with little capital, and allow the profits to fund business expansion. This is the safest way to start a business, and it is one of the most successful. So, don't quit your day job, and begin planning your tiny little business startup.

Third, research your business ideas and the competition thoroughly. Know what everyone else is doing in your field and in your geographic area. Research what other businesses outside your area are doing and how they have been successful. The more you know about your upcoming enterprise and how everyone else is doing it, the more chance you have to be successful. And the research does not end there. It is one thing to start a successful enterprise, it is another to keep it successful. Continued product, service and competition research is a necessity in business.

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Fourth, and most important, every business must have a detailed, written business plan. Take the time to detail what you will sell, what you will do, who will be your customers and who will be your suppliers. Include details in your business plan about how you will obtain financing if necessary and when you will hire employees. Use very conservative projections as you develop this plan. And then, when you think your business idea is down on paper, take it to the business experts to get their opinions and their help to make your dream come true. Take it to the local chamber of commerce, to your banker and perhaps even to the mayor of your city or village. Ask them to keep the information confidential before you present it because you don't want to tip off your potential competition. With all these business "promoters" on your side, you now have some allies, some potential customers and some good advice.

As your business continues to grow and change over the years, your written business plan must continue to reflect your current business, the market and the economy. You must continue to update your plan and use it to guide and restrict your steps.

Finally, choose something that's different from what everyone else is doing. These are difficult economic times. Competition for customers has forced prices and profits down to the point where the heartiest businesses have a hard time surviving. If you are selling a product or providing a service, do it in a way that the competition hasn't thought of. Forget about making a mint providing regular commodities: Everybody else has the same stuff, and someone is always selling for less than you. Lowest price generally attracts the most customers. So, predicate your business on a product or service that is exclusive and has a chance of maintaining an adequate profit margin. Be unique and be successful!

Don't allow other people's pessimistic attitudes to smash your dreams or put your plans on hold. Good planning, a positive attitude and lotsa elbow grease can usually make a good business plan succeed. Attitude leads!

[Jim Youngquist]

Illinois has a long history of
producing successful inventors

By Paul Niemann

[FEB. 27, 2003]  While Illinois is known as the Land of Lincoln because President Lincoln grew up here, many Illinoisans do not know that he was also one of the few U.S. presidents who was also an inventor. In 1849, while serving as a representative in Congress, Lincoln was issued a patent for a "device that buoyed vessels over shoals."

While Illinois has been home to such famous residents as Marshall Field, William Wrigley, Ray Kroc and Michael Jordan, this column is not about them. This column is about Illinois' most prolific inventors and their inventions. As we travel throughout the state to shine the spotlight on some of our greatest inventors, we discover some who became household names, while others lived in relative obscurity even though their inventions became household names or led to the creation of some of America's greatest companies.

Our journey begins in the author's hometown of Quincy, on the banks of the Mississippi River. Quincy is home to inventors Parker Gates, Elmer Wavering and William Lear, who were all pioneers in the electronics industry.

According to Quincy Herald-Whig archives, Parker Gates and his father co-founded the Gates Radio Company in 1922 in a rented storeroom when Parker was just 14. Parker's early inventions included a sound machine that was used in movie houses all over the country, along with the first transcription turntable in 1929. A few years later, he invented a remote amplifier, which enabled radio stations to broadcast events live from outside the station, and in 1933 he invented a smaller version of the microphone as well as the first radio station master console and the first radio broadcasting transmitter.

With the advent of television in the 1950s, the Gates Radio Company began producing television broadcasting equipment and transmission towers. Gates Radio was later bought out by what is now Harris Broadcasting Corporation in 1957, and Gates stayed on to serve as president of the subsidiary.

William Lear was one of America's most successful inventors ever. Lear was born in Hannibal, Mo., in 1902, and his family soon moved to Chicago, where he attended school up until the eighth grade. After serving in World War I, Lear moved to Quincy in 1922 at the age of 20.

Lear and a friend, fellow Quincyan Elmer Wavering, co-invented the first practical car radio later that year. Unable to afford a booth at a major automotive trade show in Chicago, the two inventors devised a way to attract the attention of potential customers who would be attending the trade show. They parked their car near the entrance and cranked up the volume of their radio, attracting the attention of nearly everyone who passed through the doors that day. As a result, they were able to write up more orders from new customers than either of them could have imagined. Lear and Wavering eventually signed over the rights to Motorola in 1924, and their car radio became Motorola's first major product.

According to the Lemelson-MIT Invention Dimension website, other Lear inventions included the world's first reliable aeronautical radio compass, as well as an automatic pilot system. The first fully automatic landing system that Lear developed earned him the FAA's Collier Trophy, an award that was bestowed upon him by President Truman.

In 1962, he made possible the first-ever completely automatic blind landings of passenger flights. Today, Learjet, which Lear formed in 1962, is the world's foremost supplier of corporate jets. Lear also designed the eight-track tape player in the 1960s. Altogether, he earned more than a hundred patents in the audio, automotive and aircraft industries from 1930 to the 1960s.

Leaving Quincy, we get in the boat and travel upriver to Moline, where John Deere opened his first factory. Deere was born in Rutland, Vt., in 1804 and moved to Grand Detour, Ill., in 1837. The cast-iron plows used in the Midwest at that time were designed for the light, sandy soil of New England, not for the fertile Midwestern soil. The rich Midwestern soil would cling to the plow bottoms, causing the farmers to stop every few steps to scrape the soil from the plow.

Deere studied the problem and became convinced that a plow could be developed to scour itself. He created such a plow in 1837 and successfully tested it on a farm near Grand Detour.

The first Deere & Company factory opened in 1848, and today the company sells more than $13 billion in agricultural equipment annually. It is one of the nation's 100 largest manufacturing companies.

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Some of the best new inventions come from simply combining two separate ideas. In 1890, Benjamin Holt and Daniel Best each developed their own types of tractors. Holt developed the world's first steam track-type tractor in 1904, while in 1906, Best developed the world's first gas track-type tractor, which crawled along the ground like a caterpillar. They weren't working together at the time but rather for separate companies. According to the Caterpillar website, Caterpillar track-type tractors were used by the Allies in World War I, and in 1925, the Holt Manufacturing Company and the C.L. Best Tractor Company merged to form Caterpillar Tractor Co. Today, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, and its diverse product line of more than 300 products accounts for more than $17 billion in annual sales.

Next, we hop on our tractor and continue riding east as we search for more inventions in the town of DeKalb. Farmers all across the country appreciate the work of DeKalb residents Joseph Glidden and Jacob Haish. According to Scott Cook of the University of Virginia, early versions of barbed wire had been invented as early as 1867, including a version by Haish, but Glidden perfected it in 1873 and is known as the inventor of modern-day barbed wire. Haish invented an automatic machine to manufacture it the same year.

The significance of barbed wire was that it replaced the more expensive stone, rail or wooden fences that were being used at a time when there was a lack of timber in Illinois. Glidden sold the rights to his barbed wire in 1876 and continued receiving royalties for the next 15 years, while Haish became one of the wealthiest men in DeKalb during the late 1800s.

Cyrus McCormick, the inventor of the mechanical reaper, earns a spot in this article even though he didn't live in Illinois until he was 38 years old. Creating a reaper after his father had tried and given up on the idea, McCormick patented his invention in 1834 after a competing inventor had announced the construction of a reaper of his own a year earlier. He started to manufacture the machine on the family estate in 1837.

Sales were slow in Virginia, and after meeting with Illinois Sen. Stephen A. Douglas in 1846 and visiting the vast grain fields of the Midwest, McCormick decided to move his operation to Chicago.

According to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, McCormick's reaper combined all the steps that earlier harvesting machines had performed separately, allowing farmers to more than double their crop size. By 1860, he was selling over 4,000 reapers a year, and his success in Chicago helped make Chicago the greatest grain port in the world.

McCormick's company eventually merged with a rival to become International Harvester Company, and today it is known as Navistar.

The first African-American woman to receive a patent was also from Illinois. According to the Enchanted Learning website, Sarah Goode of Chicago was a businesswoman and inventor who received a patent in 1885 for her folding cabinet bed. When not being used, the bed folded up against the wall into a cabinet, to be used as a desk. Goode invented the bed for people living in small apartments.

Since Chicago is as far east as one can travel in Illinois without getting wet, we end our search for inventions here. Our journey began in Quincy and it ends, for now, in Chicago. Even though we've only scratched the surface of the subject of inventors and their inventions, it's time to gas up the car, the boat and the tractor, so we'll stop here for now.

Next week: Here's why you've never heard of the OTHER person who invented the telephone

[Paul Niemann]

Paul Niemann is a contributing author to Inventors' Digest magazine. He also runs MarketLaunchers.com, helping people in the marketing of their new product ideas. In addition, he teaches marketing and advertising at Quincy University. He can be reached at niemann7@aol.com.

Announcements

The Chamber Report

Chamber's annual dinner initiates Legion facility

[FEB. 27, 2003]  Chris Coyne of State Farm Insurance and Barbie Carter of Logan County Bank were recognized as king and queen of the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce's Mardi Gras-style annual dinner. The dinner Saturday night, Feb. 15, was the first event to be held in the new American Legion Hall.

Mary Conrady, manager of the Lincoln CEFCU office and immediate past president of the chamber board of directors, reviewed chamber accomplishments for the past year. Twenty-two new members were inducted into the chamber, 27 traditional ribbon-cutting ceremonies were conducted by the Ambassadors, and eight chamber businesses hosted after-hours mixers. In addition to the "Meet the State Candidates" breakfast, morning programs focused on technology tips and advice for owners of small businesses.

Continuing to bring agriculture and business leaders together, the chamber organized the third annual Logan County Ag Day breakfast and hosted a chamber mixer on a farm. Quality-of-life community events organized by the chamber included a luncheon for office professionals, the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival, a golf outing, and the Christmas parade. Local trade was promoted through the Chamber Bucks program and cable TV exposure.

"If I had to choose one accomplishment over the past year that stands above all others," said Conrady, "it would have to be the community video that was produced by the chamber's marketing committee. The video is a powerful tool to attract businesses, individuals or families to locate here."

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Conrady then introduced the new chamber president, Brian Ash of Logan County Bank. Ash unveiled his theme for the coming year, "Planting Seeds for Progress." "The actions we take today will have an impact on tomorrow," he said. "We have already taken steps for our future within the chamber. Our director, Bobbi Abbott, recently completed the four-year Institute for Organizational Management certification, and we have added Jeff Mayfield as economic development director and Senator Bob Madigan as government liaison. We're ready to grow the economy!"

Ash introduced new chamber board members Diane Van Dorn-Slack of Midwest Records Storage; Ed Block, Saint-Gobain Containers; Rick Hamm, State Farm Insurance; and Steve Smith, Illinois American Water Company. Conrady recognized retiring board members Todd Lowman of Garland Gehrke Trucking and Terry Werth from the Logan County Board.

[Press release]

Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce

Bobbi Abbott, Executive Director

303 S. Kickapoo St.

Lincoln, IL 62656

(217) 735-2385

chamber@lincolnillinois.com
www.lincolnillinois.com

Honors & Awards

Main Street Corner News

Main Street Lincoln offers
business start-up monies

[FEB. 17, 2003]  To entice new businesses to open in downtown Lincoln, Main Street Lincoln is offering financial assistance through a $20,000 grant from Illinois FIRST.

Eligible businesses must locate in Lincoln's Courthouse Square Historic District and have a business plan based on the Small Business Administration model.

The Business Builder Fund is aimed at new businesses that need financial assistance to get started. Funds are available to business owners who would not be able to meet bank loan down-payment requirements without these funds. The grants will provide no more than one-third of the equity or down payment for a bank loan, or a maximum of $10,000.

Application for the grant is made as part of the business loan application process at participating lending institutions. A lending institution recommendation is required for the award of this grant.

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"We are offering this money to encourage people who would like to own a business but don't have the financial means to get started," noted Dale Bassi, chairman of the Main Street Lincoln Economic Restructuring Committee. "Downtown Lincoln is a great place to open a business, with its mix of retail and service businesses and restaurants," he added.

For more information about the grant and available property in the historic district, contact Cindy McLaughlin at Main Street Lincoln, (217) 732-2929.

[Main Street Lincoln press release]

[Click here for more details from an earlier posting in LDN.]

Main Street Lincoln

Cindy McLaughlin, Program Manager

303 S. Kickapoo

Lincoln, IL 62656

Phone: (217) 732-2929

Fax: (217) 735-9205

E-mail: manager@mainstreetlincoln.com