My office will be closed on Good Friday; here's a secular reason why the Illinois courts should close, too

The Circuit Court of Cook County used to close on Good Friday. Some years back, however, it was decided that it was politically incorrect to suspend public business because of a religious observance.

This has always confused me. Even if the day has no religious significance to you, why should you object to an extra day off?

School districts in Illinois have wrestled with this problem, too, but most have found a way to fit Good Friday into a religiously neutral "Spring Break." That wouldn't work for the Circuit Court.

So allow me to offer this secular, legally-themed justification for the restoration of the Good Friday court holiday: The most famous lawyer Illinois ever produced was murdered on Good Friday.

Granted, we already commemorate Lincoln's Birthday with a court holiday -- but this additional recognition would be consistent with the extraordinary influence that Abraham Lincoln had on the legal system in this state. That this holiday would always coincide with a religious observance that many would observe anyway would only be a bonus.

What do you think?