Otto Kerner

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Otto Kerner next to a Lincoln bust

Otto Kerner Jr. (born August 15, 1908 in Chicago , Illinois ; † May 9, 1976 there ) was an American lawyer and politician . He was the 33rd governor of the state of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 .

Early years and political advancement

Otto Kerner attended Brown University in Providence until 1930 and then studied law at Northwestern University until 1934 . Between 1930 and 1931 he also studied for a year at the University of Cambridge in England . In 1934 he joined the Illinois National Guard . During the Second World War he was used in both Europe and the Pacific. In 1944 he received the Soldier's Medal and the Bronze Star Medal for rescuing a drowning soldier off the coast of Sicily. He remained in active military service until 1946, then in the reserve. In 1954 he resigned from military service as major general of the National Guard. Between 1947 and 1954 he was a federal attorney for the northern district of Illinois. From 1955 to 1960 he was a judge in Cook County . In 1960 he was nominated by the Democratic Party as a candidate for the gubernatorial election.

Illinois Governor

Kerner (center) at a meeting in the White House cabinet room , right President Johnson

After his successful election against the Republican incumbent William Stratton , Kerner took up his new office on January 9, 1961. During his reign he promoted the economic development of his state as well as educational policy. He campaigned for improvements in the health system and called for equal rights in the allocation of jobs and housing. In 1962, an amendment to the Illinois Constitution introduced a state-wide uniform judicial system. In November 1962, Illinois became the first state to ratify the 24th Amendment . In 1966, the governor's economic policy had its first success, when Illinois was at the forefront of all states in terms of exports of economic goods. Otto Kerner was a member of several governor's associations and made a name for himself through his advocacy of racial equality. He also represented these views in an advisory commission set up by US President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 ( National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders ).

Another résumé

Governor Kerner, who was re-elected in 1964, resigned on May 21, 1968 to succeed Winfred George Knoch as judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit . His father Otto Kerner Sr. , who was also Attorney General of Illinois, was a member of this federal appeals court from 1939 to 1952 .

Kerner remained a judge until 1974. His services as governor were overshadowed by scandals surrounding himself.

In 1968, Marge Lindheimer Everett, the manager of two horse racing tracks in Chicago, was accused of bribing Governor Kerner. The bribes were paid in the form of stock options. The bribe came to light after Everett deducted the value of the shares on her income tax return and Kerner reported the profits made on the stock options on his tax return. In 1973, Kerner was tried in which he was sentenced to three years imprisonment and a fine on 17 counts of bribery , perjury , postal fraud , tax evasion and stock fraud . Kerner was the first acting judge of a federal court in the history of the USA, who also had to answer before a federal court. Kerner escaped certain impeachment by independently resigning from his office as federal judge. After a diagnosis of fatal cancer, he was released early from prison. He died shortly afterwards in 1976.

Private

On October 20, 1934, Kerner married Helena Cermak, the daughter of the former mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak , who was assassinated in 1933.

Web links

Commons : Otto Kerner Jr.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Chicago Tribune, " First Illinois governor to do time was known as 'Mr. Clean' ", December 11, 2011.