Abe Lincoln once jumped out of a second-story Statehouse window in an effort to deny a quorum and stop a vote by the Illinois General Assembly to adjourn.

So Tuesday’s walkout by two Calumet Village Board trustees that denied a quorum and blocked a vote on a new police chief is not without precedent.

With Board President Dave Geisler absent and one seat unfilled, Sidney Dharmavaram and Peggy Germain left the meeting as a resolution to hire an outside candidate over a current Calumet police officer as chief came up for consideration.

The walkout left the board with three members in attendance, one short of a quorum required to do business and conduct votes. Unlike in the case of Lincoln, the Village Hall doors were not locked, so they did not have to jump out a window.

A few years ago, Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature resorted to the same tactic, beating it en masse south of the border into Illinois to prevent passage of what they perceived as particularly heinous legislation.

While walking out, jumping out of windows and driving out of state has been deployed numerous times to deny a quorum, it’s really nothing more than a delaying tactic. When tricks like this are attempted, it’s human instinct to dig in and become more obstinate in holding a position, if only on principle.

For the record, Lincoln’s escape only temporarily denied the House its quorum. History records that he was returned to the chambers, and the House voted to adjourn.

A Daily Mining Gazette editorial