Sherman Skolnick
Sherman H. Skolnick | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 13, 1930 Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Died | May 21, 2006 (aged 75) Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Occupation(s) | Author and investigative journalist |
Sherman H. Skolnick (July 13, 1930 – May 21, 2006) was a Chicago-based activist and conspiracy theorist.[1][2][3]
Early life
Born in Chicago in 1930, at the age of six, Skolnick was paralyzed by polio, and he used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.[4] His parents, a homemaker and a tailor, were Jewish European immigrants.[4] Skolnick's father was from Russia.[5]
Career
Skolnick was founder and chairman of the Citizens' Committee to Clean Up the Courts,[4] which he started in 1963. He used the local press to distribute his reports, later establishing a telephone hotline–"Hotline News", a public-access television show on cable TV, and a web site.[4]
Skolnick's investigations put Otto Kerner Jr. in prison for three years; and led to the resignation of two Illinois Supreme Court justices, Roy J. Solfisburg, Jr. and Ray Klingbiel, who, as Skolnick reported, had accepted bribes of stock from a defendant in a case on which they ruled.[4] The scandal catapulted John Paul Stevens, special counsel to an investigating commission, to fame as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.[6] In 2001, the story became the subject of a book, Illinois Justice, by Kenneth A. Manaster.[6] His investigations also revealed corruption at the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
Skolnick's final written works include an 81-part series entitled "The Overthrow of the American Republic," and a 16-part series entitled "Coca-Cola, the CIA, and the Courts."[4]
Later life and death
Skolnick died of a heart attack on May 21, 2006.[4]
Publications
Articles
- "The Late Grand Dragon of the Washington Post." Skolnick's Report (July 23, 2001).
Books
- Ahead of the Parade: A Who's Who of Treason and High Crimes – Exclusive Details of Fraud and Corruption of the Monopoly Press, the Banks, the Bench and the Bar, and the Secret Political Police. Dandelion Books (2003). ISBN 9781893302327.
- Overthrow of the American Republic: Writings of Sherman H. Skolnick. Dandelion Books (2007). ISBN 1893302229, 978-1893302228.
References
- ^ Fenster, Mark (1999). Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. p. 84. ISBN 9780816632428. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ^ Kellner, Douglas (2003). Media Spectacle. London: Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 9781134493951. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ^ Smith, Christopher E. (2011). "John Paul Stevens: A Liberal Leader & His Roles on the Court". In Smith, Christopher E.; DeJong, Christina; McCall, Michael A. (eds.). The Rehnquist Court and Criminal Justice. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. p. 128. ISBN 9780739140826. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g Noel, Josh (May 23, 2006). "Sherman Skolnick". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- ^ "Judges: Skolnick's Guerrilla War". Time. August 29, 1969. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007.
- ^ a b Patten, Joseph N. (2003–2004). "Review of Illinois Justice: The Scandal of 1969 and the Rise of John Paul Stevens" (PDF). Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture. 10 (3): 233–237.
External links
- Official website archive
- Sherman Skolnick file at the FBI (via Internet Archive)
- Sherman Skolnick collection at the Harold Weisberg Archive (via Internet Archive)
- Sherman Skolnick Suit collection at the Harold Weisberg Archive (via Internet Archive)
- "Sherman Skolnick Sounds Off!" Interview by Kenn Thomas.