Cecil A. Partee Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

More documents

Recommendations

Info

only met for six months every other year. That meant eighteen months that you would be home practicing law as a private practitioner. When I first went, you could take your two-year salary at once, so I took the two-year salary because I figured that I would make less money practicing law the first year than the second year, for two reasons. One, I would only be out a year, or a half a year, really. The other being that, the second year, I would have a full year uninterrupted with the legislature to practice law. So, for tax purposes, I thought it might sort of balance out better that way. So it did and so I did that for a number of years. I would practice law and was in the legislature. You have got to remember that in those days in the legislature, you would go down two or three days a week for, well, I'll say from January up until about April, you were never down there but one or twa days a week. You were home doing your regular practice the rest of the time. Q: Now, let's see, you initially practiced with Mr. Clayton. Was there a change or did you still work with his firm? A: No, I came out. I opened my own business. Q: Oh, you did? A: Yes. Mr. Clayton passed just before I got out of the state" attorney's office. He had passed. Q: So you opened up your own office. Where was it located? A: At 100 North ZaSalle Street. I went in with a fellow by the name of Louis Leider, Jewish fellow. Q: (pause) How long did that partnership extend? A: It wasn't a partnership. I worked out of that office as an associate. Well, I was there a couple of years and then I moved down to another suite in the building with a fellow named Sidney Jones who is now a judge. And I practiced there for . . . well, let's see. I was in that building from 1957 until 1977, twenty years, and then we moved over to 1 North LaSalle. developed my own firm of Partee and Green. Q: You say that would last until 1977? A: Well, no, we still practice under the name of Partee and Green but we're individual practitioners for the reason that I came to other places, he went to represent an insurance company and he is now general counsel of that insurance company, so we don't have a partnership, but we do have an associat ion. Q: When you first started out, it was still in the Kelly-Nash era, wasn't it? A: No, no. I
Q: That had already finished? A: No, Arvey was the national committeeman when I started out. Q: Did you know him very well? A: I knew him--yes, 1 knew him very well. Q: What kind of person was he? A: Very knowledgeable, very bright . . . a good politician. See, it was he who decided in 1948 that they had to have some outstanding people to run for office. And he picked two people. Paul Douglas, who had been a member of the city council, and Adlai Stevenson, who had been secretary of treasure and with the federal government in the--what is it? Not the United Nations, hut something comparable to that, you know. Stevenson was supposed to have been the United States senator and Douglas was to have peen the governor and then they changed it at the last minute and switched them and made Stevenson the governor and Douglas the senator. And they won overwhelmingly. That was in 1948 and they won. Of course, you knew the history from then. Q: Yes. Did you know Paul Douglas personally? A: Oh, I knew him personally. Fine man. Just a great, great man. He's just almost incomparable. Very fine man. I knew Stevenson, too, and I thought he was one of the brightest men I've ever met in my life. Maybe too bright for the American people. You know, he ran in 1952 and 1956 for president and I'm not sure everybody understood him. He was so bright. I don't think he ever talked down to people, but I think you havFto be understood by people--the masses. Q: Do you know why that switch was made? A: No, I do not. NO, I do not. I really don't. I've thought about it a lot af times. I really don't know. Q: Wasn't Mr. Douglas' wife involved in politics also? A: Oh, yes, she was a congressman-at-large at one time, yes. Emily Taft Douglas, bright lady, very bright woman. Q: Did you know her? A: Yes, I knew her. In some women's causes, I had worked with her in several areas. Q: Do you recall specific areas, examples? A: Yes, for example, the increased involvement of women in politics. Q: Who was governor when you went down to . . .
Page 1 and 2:
University of Illinois at Springfie
Page 3 and 4:
ILLINOIS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 107 St
Page 5 and 6:
CECIL A. PARTEE Illinois House of R
Page 7 and 8:
Mr. Bartee retired at the end of th
Page 9 and 10:
Volume I SESSION 1, TAPE 1, SIDE 1
Page 11 and 12:
Q: You say she taught there near Bl
Page 13 and 14:
The third grade teacher taught us t
Page 15 and 16:
A: No. None as dramatic as that. Ha
Page 17 and 18:
and said, in one of the contests, L
Page 19 and 20:
I 1 Q: Oh? i '1 A: And then I had a
Page 21 and 22:
So the whole family relationship an
Page 23 and 24:
a tie-in between that and what we c
Page 25 and 26:
A: And my grandmother. My grandmoth
Page 27 and 28: But I think it was more or less a S
Page 29 and 30: a debate on , "What is most destruc
Page 31 and 32: somebody or something foul. So, had
Page 33 and 34: when prohibition was over and they
Page 35 and 36: A: Mixed crews, yes. Q: Do you reme
Page 37 and 38: to her for fear she wouldn't pay me
Page 39 and 40: lawyer who became a judge there. He
Page 41 and 42: A: (pause) I don't know. I think pr
Page 43 and 44: CHARLES CECIL AND BESSIE DUPREE PAR
Page 45 and 46: COURTESV OF BESSIE D. IVY CECIL PAR
Page 47 and 48: CORNEAL DAVIS (L) AND CEClL PARTEE.
Page 49 and 50: A: Beautiful. I stayed in the dormi
Page 51 and 52: A: I didn't know any of them until
Page 53 and 54: A: Well, just like going out for th
Page 55 and 56: 4 1 SESSION 3, TAPE 3, SIDE 1 Q: I
Page 57 and 58: yourself and so forth. Whereas, in
Page 59 and 60: A: Yes, I remember a fellow by the
Page 61 and 62: six inches, into my leg. And just m
Page 63 and 64: Q: And you're still in touch with t
Page 65 and 66: A: But they said, "You can go somew
Page 67 and 68: Q: How did you get back and forth?
Page 69 and 70: just on the weekend which was a lot
Page 71 and 72: A: Well, I was there for about a ye
Page 73 and 74: old fellow told me that he's from t
Page 75 and 76: We tried to get a decision between
Page 77: 63 Abraham Lincoln Hotel and we wer
Page 81 and 82: legislation, I think one day what I
Page 83 and 84: A: No, that was about two years bef
Page 85 and 86: A: Yes. q: Did she continue active
Page 87 and 88: Q: Was this in replacement of Mr. C
Page 89 and 90: Filipino or some man may be married
Page 91 and 92: deal of controversy about them. Q:
Page 93 and 94: well paying jobs but they had to do
Page 95 and 96: joined other organizations for the
Page 97 and 98: A: Generally just before an electio
Page 99 and 100: A: No, I don't think we had opposit
Page 101 and 102: where they paid you far two years t
Page 103 and 104: BLACK DEMOCRATS IN THE 77TH ILLINOI
Page 105 and 106: CECIL PARTEE AT WORK IN THE SENATE
Page 107 and 108: A: No, it was the Legislative Refer
Page 109 and 110: Q: Well! (laughter) A: Yes, didn't
Page 111 and 112: esearch if you needed it? A: Bill I
Page 113 and 114: started from nothing. Q: Did that o
Page 115 and 116: A: Well, not specifically as to the
Page 117 and 118: for that. About 1968, Chicago start
Page 119 and 120: he was there. We joined him in 1967
Page 121 and 122: years and for many many years it fa
Page 123 and 124: of that nature. But other than that
Page 125 and 126: A: No, I do not. Q: Why were yau co
Page 127 and 128: the word I seek now is . . . quota
Page 129 and 130:
the 1965 Civil Rights Act at the fe
Page 131 and 132:
matter of fact--with the head of th
Page 133 and 134:
served or rehabilitated as well as
show all

Cecil A. Partee Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?