A rare feat, Mikva served in every branch of government.
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Abner was not only a great Chicagoan, but a great American.
Mikva was elected to the IL state legislature in 1956 and served in the U.S. House during the 1960s and 1970s.
Mikva started a political career rooted in Chicago’s independent political movement that produced a unique resume, culminating in 2014 with the award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For me, one of those people was Ab Mikva.
“When I was graduating law school, Ab encouraged me to pursue public service”, Obama said in a prepared statement. Ab’s life was a testament to that truth. Mikva will be remembered for his compassion, independence and progressive values.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of IL called Mikva “my North Star for integrity”. Ab didn’t take no for an answer because he knew that in America, in our democracy, everybody can be somebody-everybody matters. I count myself honored to have had him as a mentor and to have been his friend. Information will be available on the Mikva Challenge website. He graduated from the University of Chicago Law School, and in a famous anecdote, was rebuffed by Chicago’s political machine in his first attempt to get involved in politics. He said in a statement Tuesday, “like so many admirers, I’ve lost a mentor and a friend”. “There was a street-front, and the name Timothy O’Sullivan, Ward Committeeman, was painted on the front window”.
And famously, Mikva was the young Democrat who was once told by a ward boss, “we don’t want nobody nobody sent”, which he ignored. It was when he was living in Hyde Park that he chose to run for a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives for the 23rd District and after winning the primary, was the first independent Democrat from Chicago to have been elected to the state legislature. There were three candidates in the Democratic primary.
Ab Mikva gave me my first job – and my first chance – in the law. And I thought, ‘Boy, has he got a lot to learn. In Springfield, Mikva became a prominent supporter of handgun control, fair housing and election and civil service reforms. He was later elected to Congress, and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969 to 1973, and from 1975 to 1979. In 1971, he served as a floor manager when the House passed the 26th Amendment which lowered the voting age to 18. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan clerked for Mikva during his time at the appeals court.
Mikva remained on the bench until 1994, when he was appointed by Clinton as White House counsel. He served there for 15 years, including five years as chief judge.
Mikva, a liberal voice and stalwart of Illinois’ political landscape for decades, was most recently active in pushing for the U.S. Senate to consider the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
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Mikva was saddened by partisan rancor in Washington, according to Brian Brady, national director of the nonprofit leadership ground Mikva Challenge that Mikva helped found.
