Mikva, Abner J. (Abner Joseph), 1926-2016

MIKVA, Abner Joseph, a Representative from Illinois; born in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wis., January 21, 1926; attended public schools in Milwaukee; J.D., University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Ill., 1951; admitted to the Illinois state bar in 1951; lawyer, private practice; United States Army Air Corps, 1944-1945; law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Sherman Minton, 1951-1952; member of the Illinois state legislature, 1956-1966; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-first and to the succeeding Congress (January 3, 1969-January 3, 1973); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninety-third Congress in 1972; member of the Illinois State Board of Ethics, 1973; practiced law in Chicago, 1973-1974; professor, Northwestern University School of Law, 1973-1975; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-fourth and to the two succeeding Congresses, served until his resignation on September 26, 1979 (January 3, 1975-September 26, 1979); judge in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit, 1979-1991, chief judge, January 19, 1991-October 1, 1994; Counsel to President William J. Clinton, 1994-1995; died on July 4, 2016, in Chicago, Ill.

BURIAL
Zion Gardens, Inc.
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
PLOT Mt. Maariv

<p><b>RACES</b>
<ul>
<li> 11/24/2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Won 5.26% (+0.00%)</li>
<li> 01/01/1991 D.C. Circuit Court Chief Judge Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 09/25/1979 D.C. Circuit Court Judge Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 11/07/1978 IL District 10 Won 50.18% (+0.36%)</li>
<li> 11/02/1976 IL District 10 Won 50.05% (+0.09%)</li>
<li> 11/05/1974 IL District 10 Won 50.87% (+1.74%)</li>
<li> 11/07/1972 IL District 10 Lost 48.40% (-3.19%)</li>
<li> 03/21/1972 IL District 10-D Primary Won 66.39% (+32.77%)</li>
<li> 11/03/1970 IL District 2 Won 74.72% (+49.45%)</li>
<li> 11/05/1968 IL District 2 Won 65.36% (+30.72%)</li>
<li> 06/11/1968 IL District 2-D Primary Won 60.65% (+34.28%)</li>
<li> 06/14/1966 IL District 2-D Primary Lost 47.63% (-4.74%)</li>
<li> 11/03/1964 IL State House At-Large Won 0.45% (-0.01%)</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>Abner Joseph Mikva (January 21, 1926 – July 4, 2016) was an American politician, federal judge, lawyer and law professor. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Mikva served in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 2nd congressional district (1969–1973) and 10th congressional district (1975–1979). He was appointed as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Jimmy Carter, serving from 1979 to 1994. He served as the White House Counsel in 1994-95 during Bill Clinton's presidency. In his later career, Mikva taught law at University of Chicago Law School, Georgetown Law Center and Northwestern University. He mentored future President of the United States Barack Obama during his early years in law. In 2014 Obama honored Mikva with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.</p>

<p>Mikva was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Ida (Fishman) and Henry Abraham Mikva, Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. Mikva and his parents spoke Yiddish at home. During the Great Depression, his father was often unemployed and the family relied on welfare. Abner attended local public schools. During World War II, he enlisted and was trained in the United States Army Air Corps, but the war ended the day before he was due to be deployed. Afterward, the GI Bill enabled Mikva to attend the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee before transferring to Washington University in St. Louis, where he met his future wife, Zorita Rose (Zoe) Wise. Both graduated in 1948 and soon married.</p>

<p>The couple moved to Chicago, Illinois, where (as Zoe had urged) Mikva enrolled in law school at the University of Chicago Law School. He received his Juris Doctor in 1951. The couple eventually had three daughters: Mary Lane (b. 1953), an Illinois Appellate Court judge in Chicago Laurie, who teaches at Northwestern University and is on the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation; and Rachel, a rabbi and professor who teaches at the Chicago Theological Seminary.</p>