Following his recent passing, we honor the life and work of our founding partner, Robert B. Plager. Bob was born and raised in DeKalb, graduated from the University of Illinois Law School in 1967 and joined our firm, then known as Hunter, Hunter & Madden.
During his more than 40-year career serving clients in northwest Illinois, Bob became known for providing compassionate and high-quality legal representation. Bob was also a mentor to the younger attorneys at the firm. He was a founding member of the agricultural law section of the Illinois State Bar Association and later received recognition from his peers by being selected as the chairman. Agricultural law continues to be a focus of the law firm.
In 1979, Bob and the other partners at the firm purchased and restored the German-Insurance Company building. The building was in a state of significant disrepair and was massively renovated. After rechristening it the Lincoln-Douglas Center, the building has remained a landmark in downtown Freeport.
Bob was a family man, and with his wife Elaine, raised their two daughters, Alyson and Juliette, in the Freeport community. Bob was passionate about preserving the history of the Freeport Lincoln-Douglas Debate. As President of the Lincoln-Douglas Society, he coordinated the celebration of the 130th anniversary of the Freeport Debate and was greatly involved in the reenactment of the debate covered by C-SPAN. Bob also served as President of the Freeport Noon Kiwanis and the United Way of Freeport, and was a board member of the Freeport Public Library, Chamber of Commerce, and the Northern Illinois Library. He received awards such as Outstanding Young Man of Freeport and Kiwanian of the Year.
We feel that Bob has been an amazing role model as an attorney and citizen, and we will miss his friendship and contributions. We extend our sincere condolences to Elaine, Alyson, and Juliette.