Otto Kerner, Jr.

Otto Kerner
33rd Governor of Illinois
In office January 9, 1961 – May 21, 1968
Lieutenant	Samuel H. Shapiro
Preceded by	William Stratton
Succeeded by	Samuel H. Shapiro
Personal details
Born	August 15, 1908(1908-08-15) Chicago, Illinois
Died	May 9, 1976(1976-05-09) (aged 67) Chicago, Illinois
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Helena Cermak
Religion	Presbyterian

Otto Kerner, Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was the 33rd Governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968. He is best known for chairing the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission) and for accepting bribes.

Early life and education

Kerner was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 15, 1908, son of Otto Kerner, Sr. (1884–1952) who served as Illinois Attorney General and a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

After graduating from Brown University in 1930, Kerner attended Trinity College at Cambridge University in England from 1930 to 1931. In 1934, he received a law degree from Northwestern University in Chicago and was admitted to the Illinois bar. On October 20, 1934, he married Helena Cermak, daughter of the late Anton Cermak, who had been mayor of Chicago before he was shot and mortally wounded in Miami, Florida, in 1933 by Giuseppe Zangara in what may have been an attempt on the life of president-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Kerner joined the 33rd Division of the Illinois National Guard in 1934. In 1942, he entered active duty in World War II, serving as a field artillery officer in the 9th Infantry Division of the United States Army in North Africa and Italy and in 32nd Infantry Division in the Pacific. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for merit and the Soldier's Medal for rescuing a drowning soldier off the coast of Sicily. He was released from active duty in 1946 as a lieutenant colonel and rejoined the Illinois National Guard. In the 33rd Division, Kerner was promoted to the rank of colonel that same year and to brigadier general in 1951. He retired in 1954 as a major general.

Political career

In 1947, Kerner was appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, a post which he held until 1954. He then became a judge in the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County from 1954 to 1961. In both of those posts, Kerner was an advocate for reforming adoption laws and procedures. He also prosecuted famed automobile executive Preston Tucker for fraud.

Kerner (center) meeting with Roy Wilkins (left) and President Lyndon B. Johnson (right) at the White House in 1967.

He defeated incumbent William G. Stratton in the 1960 Illinois gubernatorial election and was re-elected in 1964, defeating moderate Republican Charles H. Percy. As governor, Kerner promoted economic development, education, mental health services, and equal access to jobs and housing. He served on the National Governors' Conference Executive Committee from 1967 to 1968, and he chaired the Midwestern Governors' Conference that same year. In July 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson formed the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders and named Kerner its chairman.

Kerner did not run for a third term, resigning as governor on May 20, 1968, to become a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Kerner was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on March 11, 1968, to fill the seat vacated by Winfred George Knoch. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 11, 1968, and received his commission on April 22, 1968.

Scandal and conviction

In 1969, Marge Lindheimer Everett, manager of Arlington Park and Washington Park race tracks, admitted bribing then-Governor Kerner and his Finance Director, Ted Isaacs, to gain choice racing dates and to get two expressway exits for her Arlington Park racetrack. The bribes were in the form of stock. The scandal came to light because Everett had deducted the value of the stock on her federal income tax returns in the belief that bribery was an ordinary and necessary business expense in Illinois.

Kerner retained famed attorney Neil Papiano to represent him. Following a 1973 trial in which his prosecutor was future Illinois governor James R. Thompson, Kerner was convicted on 17 counts of bribery, conspiracy, perjury, and related charges. He was sentenced to three years in federal prison in Chicago and fined $50,000. Faced with almost certain impeachment, he resigned his position on the federal bench on July 22, 1974. Kerner was released early from prison when it was determined that he was suffering from terminal cancer.

Kerner died in Chicago on May 9, 1976. As a result of his military service, he was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.

Kerner was the first of four 20th–21st-century Illinois governors to be convicted on federal criminal charges, the others being Daniel Walker, George Ryan, and Rod Blagojevich.

References

This article incorporates facts obtained from The Political Graveyard.

• Otto Kerner, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

External links

• Otto Kerner marker at Arlington National Cemetery

Political offices
Preceded by William Stratton	Governor of Illinois 1961–1968	Succeeded by Samuel H. Shapiro