Ginsburg spent final days on court work, opera, exercise, officiating at wedding
WASHINGTON — She was seeing family. She was exercising. She was listening to opera. She was doing the work of the court. She even officiated at a wedding.
That’s how Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent the weeks before her death Friday at 87. Those who had been in touch with Ginsburg or her staff recently said she seemed to be coping with treatment for cancer and also making plans for events months away. So the announcement of her death came as something of a surprise, even to some close friends.
Mary Hartnett, one of her two authorized biographers, visited Ginsburg in mid-August at her longtime home in the Watergate apartment complex next to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. She said Ginsburg was “plowing ahead” despite a cancer recurrence.
“She was trying very hard to treat this, and essentially her body just gave out,” Hartnett said.
Hartnett, who wore a mask and tested negative for the coronavirus before visiting, said the justice was continuing to do court work. She also exercised, working out on a treadmill or using a tape made by her longtime trainer, Bryant Johnson. In the evenings, she’d watch “Live at the Met” operas, Hartnett said.
Hartnett said she’d asked the justice whether there were any silver linings to her illness and to the coronavirus pandemic.
“She immediately lit up and said ‘Yes, I’ve had so much time with my family, and they have been wonderful,’” Hartnett said.
Ginsburg announced in mid-July that she was receiving chemotherapy treatments, the fifth time she had dealt with cancer since 1999.
“I have often said I would remain a member of the Court as long as I can do the job full steam. I remain fully able to do that,” Ginsburg said at the time.
But it was hard for the public to gauge how sick Ginsburg was. She started receiving chemotherapy in May, four months before she revealed it publicly and at a time of year when the justices typically take the bench at least once a week to announce decisions. But because of the coronavirus, the justices were hearing arguments by telephone and out of the public’s eye.
In late August, however, one photo of her became public. It was a joyous image, Ginsburg wearing a black-and-white embroidered collar and black judicial robes as she presided over an outdoor wedding in the Washington area.
The picture from Aug. 30, which was posted on bride Barb Solish’s Twitter account, suggested that Ginsburg was soldiering on. Solish didn’t respond to emails from The Associated Press requesting comment.
Also this summer, Ginsburg would have been engaged in the work of the court. The justices handle some emergency matters over the summer, and Ginsburg would also have been preparing for an extended private conference the justices hold at the end of September and before the start of the term in October.
Betsy West and Julie Cohen, who co-directed the 2018 documentary “RBG” about Ginsburg’s life, said they got an email from her in mid-August signed in her typical fashion: RBG.
But on Friday, longtime friend Nina Appel got a call from Ginsburg’s son James. He told her that his mother had died just before sundown. He didn’t want her to hear the news first on television, she said, adding that she was grateful for the call. The court said she died surrounded by family at her home in Washington.
Appel, the former dean of Loyola University Chicago’s law school who was friends with Ginsburg for over 60 years, said the news was a “terrible shock” and caught her off guard.
She said she would remember her friend not only as a brilliant jurist but also as someone who connected with young people. “She was always herself. She didn’t pretend to be anything other than who she was,” she said.
Ann Claire Williams, a former federal appeals court judge and Ginsburg’s friend, said she’d been in touch with Ginsburg’s office over the summer to reschedule a public talk they’d planned for the fall and then pushed off to 2021.
“As recently as, say, two months ago she was looking ahead to next year, so even though we knew she was ill we didn’t expect it to come to an end at this point,” Williams said.
A day before she died, Ginsburg was honored by the National Constitution Center with its Liberty Medal. The center’s president, Jeffrey Rosen, said in the opening to the video ceremony that Ginsburg was “watching at home.” Ginsburg sent a note the center made public.
It closed by sending “bravissimos” to the “participants in this event, and all in attendance for lifting my spirits sky high.”
Agreat way to follow baseball through a Chicago summer is to dip in and dip out, to come and go.
We might listen to a game on the radio outdoors, after mowing the lawn or while walking the dog. We might slip back inside to catch a big moment on TV.
Baseball’s our summer soundtrack, our daily diversion, our companion.
This summer, baseball has been a little less of all that, due to a shortened season and an eerie emptiness at ballparks because of the pandemic. But the game has also meant all the more to us for just the same reason.
We are stuck at home. We are stuck in our lives. We can’t do this and we can’t do that. A Saturday is not much different than a Wednesday when there is no weekend concert, no getting together with friends at a restaurant, no family gathering.
But there is baseball. And here in Chicago, the baseball’s been good — and it’s not over yet.
Come to think of it, a 2-0 Bears team doesn’t hurt, either.
But back to our national pastime. The White Sox last week clinched an appearance in the postseason, for the first time since 2008, and the Cubs are looking good to get there, too. Both teams have lifted our spirits just by playing good ball — and by coping with the pandemic more or less responsibly.
Ballplayers are not naturally big on social distancing. These are guys who pat each other on the butt. But Major League Baseball set out the rules, and the Cubs and the Sox have been pretty good about following them, except when the players mob each other, like after Alec Mills of the Cubs threw a no-hitter.
On July 5, two Sox players tested positive for COVID-19 and were pulled from the lineup. Nobody beefed.
On July 27, Sox manager Rick Renteria was quarantined after waking up that morning feeling crummy. Nobody rolled their eyes.
On July 28, Renteria returned to his team after his coronavirus test came back negative. Excellent for him and the Sox.
On Aug. 17, the Sox played the St. Louis Cardinals here but turned away reporters from St. Louis. Mayor Lori Lightfoot had put Missouri on a list of states from which travelers to the city must quarantine for 14 days. So be it.
Thanks for the lift in tough times, gentlemen.
And if you get deep into the playoffs, as we expect you will, you can bet that thousands of Chicago school kids will play hooky to see you play. All they’ll have to do is slip into the next room at home.
Small businesses are the heart of our neighborhoods.
Jobs that are created by small businesses are what keep our communities thriving.
My name is Chris Plywacz and I am the proud owner of Reeg Plumbing, a small business in the western suburbs.
I’m not a millionaire, nor am I a billionaire. Far from it.
I started my career right after high school, entering the trades. I eventually was able to purchase the company I worked for with the help of the Obama administration’s Small Business Administration loan program.
I am very proud that I have grown this company and now help provide jobs for other people just like me. My employees work hard. They know they have goodpaying jobs, and they provide safety and security for their families.
I am very concerned about the graduated income tax amendment on the ballot on Nov. 3 and the potential negative effect on my business and employees. I am a Democrat, and I know the amendment is being pushed by our governor; but increasing taxes and the high cost of living in Illinois doesn’t have a political party.
So, I did some research.
First of all, Illinois already has some of the highest taxes in the country — and we rank second highest for property taxes. Our state already is losing people and businesses because of our high tax burden. If this constitutional amendment passes, even more people, businesses and jobs will leave our state. It’s important to note that Illinois has seen six straight years of population decline. That directly affects blue collar jobs like mine and the ones I provide.
Now, what really gets me is that this initial tax hike immediately will affect more than 100,000 small-business owners, but it increases the tax rate on large corporations by just 10%. And there really is no real tax relief for working poor and middle-class families. In fact, it is less than $3 per month for someone making $25,000 a year.
This amendment will give a big foot to Springfield politicians to step on small businesses like mine and diminish opportunities for us to create jobs or even expand our businesses. Larger employers that provide goods and services will be hit with even higher taxes; the products they produce will go up in cost. I will be paying more for the products I need for my plumbing company and will have to make up the difference in potentially cutting wages or even jobs — something I do not want to do.
Many of my customers have left this state because of our taxes. And our future is not guaranteed, either. Taxes could go even higher, and taxing retirement income becomes a greater possibility. That is not what hardworking men and women in this state want to hear.
I was fortunate enough to be able to buy my business. If anyone, right now, is looking at starting a new small business in this state, and this graduated income tax amendment is looming, they are going to think twice. And, they may even go to another state.
If we don’t stop this amendment, the future for small businesses like mine is bleak.
After years of tax hikes, people fleeing the state and trying to weather a pandemic, Illinois is on the brink of collapse. I can’t think of a worse time to raise taxes. Chris Plywacz, Reeg Plumbing
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