Controversial Illinois Supreme Court Anne Burke Honored

Sneed of The Chicago Sun-Times reports on her good friend Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke:

Leaving no opportunity unused, Mayor Daley chose to push for a new children's museum at Grant Park in the midst of a breakfast salute to the 40th anniversary of the Special Olympics -- a celebration of children and a tribute to the Olympics founder, Anne Burke. "It's all about children, isn't it? That's what's important," said Daley.

• • A tearful tribute: But when Chris Kennedy, whose aunt, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, took the Olympics worldwide, praised Burke for her vision in 1968, napkins weren't just dabbing mouths, they were wiping eyes.

• • Quoth Kennedy: "The woman there at the beginning of it all was Anne Burke. She was just a young woman, little older than a girl. But she had a vision of the limitless role that disabled Americans have the potential to play in our country--and envisioned a change in how Americans would think of their disabled brothers and sisters." Added Kennedy: "She inspired a movement which would quickly sweep across the United States and engulf the earth. It's brought millions closer to attaining a life consistent with God's plans and aspirations. But our single greatest export to the world may well always be the Special Olympics movement."

For more on that "special" person Anne Burke,read this.