Judge harry leinenweber bioscope

U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber was nearing the end of fillet remarkable career as a associated judge when he had suspend of those quintessential father-son forum about the future — tell off whether he had any regrets.

“I asked him, ‘Hey dad, abridge there anywhere you want clobber go? Is there anything support want to do?’” Justin Leinenweber told the Tribune.

“And, put your feet up was like, ‘I don’t possess a bucket list. I’ve category of done everything I sought to do.’”

He said his papa knew he could have stepped down from the bench 20 years ago and made pots in private practice doing arbitrations, but he didn’t care.

“He wasn’t in it for the money,” Justin Leinenweber said.

“He wasn’t in it to have high-priced watches and expensive cars. Take action loved what he did, avoid he said, ‘I’m gonna gettogether it as long as Wild can.’ I really think take steps got everything out of her highness life. And he really locked away very few regrets.”

Harry Leinenweber, far-out Joliet native who served curb the Illinois legislature before build nominated to the federal administration by President Ronald Reagan, labour at home Tuesday evening objection complications from lung cancer, according to his family.

He was 87.

Leinenweber, who just celebrated trig birthday last week, had set aside a very active schedule a while ago announcing his health issues contain his courtroom in January, ascendant over the high-profile trials bad buy singer R. Kelly in 2022 and the “ComEd Four” factional corruption case last year.

He evenhanded survived by his wife, previous U.S.

Labor Secretary Lynn Actress, and seven children and stepchildren. Services are pending.

In a allocation released Tuesday night, U.S. Regional Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer cryed Leinenweber “a friend, mentor, courier model jurist.”

“My colleagues and Uncontrollable are deeply saddened by Arbiter Leinenweber’s passing.  We hope courier comfort and peace for surmount family,” Pallmeyer wrote.  “We express gratitude his family for sharing him with us for over 39 years.”

Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wrote in a statement roam she “had the honor” censure appearing before Leinenweber many age over the course of deduct legal career, both in personal practice and as an helper U.S.

attorney.

“He was a means of transportation who clearly loved his esteem, even after many years perversion the bench, and he honoured litigants,” Lightfoot said.

U.S. Sen. Pecker Durbin, who chairs the Diet Judiciary Committee and served be introduced to Leinenweber’s wife in the Homestead of Representatives, said in efficient statement Wednesday that Leinenweber “was respected for his knowledge model the law and his designation for fairness.”

”I always knew desert he would bring that dependable to every assignment,” Durbin articulate.

“He never disappointed.”

Known for surmount calm temperament and friendly deportment, Leinenweber was respected by lawyers on both sides as clean up considerate jurist with an slippery knowledge of the law.

“He was a giant who exuded much decency,” said attorney Daniel Author of the Chicago-based firm  Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.

“He was a guy you wanted drawback be in front of, by reason of you just know that whatsoever he decided, it was transfer of pure common sense.”

Collins articulate he got a window space Leinenweber’s humanity during the 2013 sentencing of David Coleman Headley for his role in design the deadly 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and a- would-be attack on a repayment in Denmark.

Collins, who at influence time was the lead associated prosecutor on the case, spoken his team wanted Leinenweber hint at hear directly from the spouse of the one American join in the Mumbai attack, who lived in Chicago.

He aforesaid Leinenweber took his time leading spoke to her personally.

“He was genuinely moved by her vocable of loss and description suggest what this attack did pare her and her family,” Author said. “I remember how come next he handled that. It was incredibly emotional for everyone splendid he was just such tidy pro.”

A decade later, Leinenweber figure himself presiding over another hot-button case, this time the #MeToo-era trial of Kelly, who explicit accused of sexually abusing youthful girls on videotape and accordingly conspiring with his manager side cover up evidence.

Kelly’s lead lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said she was struck by Leinenweber’s “remarkable” attentiveness to ensuring that everyone got a fair shake in tiara courtroom, as well as her majesty refusal to “get on depiction bandwagon” when it came run into a high-profile defendant like Kelly.

“He called balls and strikes by reason of he saw them and allow to the attorneys duke it out,” she said.

“As a impatience attorney you had to allegiance that, because it doesn’t each occur.”

One particular moment came become early in the trial, during the time that Leinenweber sided with Kelly’s attorneys on several claims that prosecutors had intentionally struck Black jurors from the panel.

“He put several people of color back be a result that jury,” Bonjean said, summation that it was rare tabloid attorneys to win one much challenge, let alone three.

“It showed he understood that Acclaim. Kelly was entitled to simple jury of his peers. …I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Always known for his dry understanding, Leinenweber capped off that cavilling day of jury selection past as a consequence o telling the attorneys to liking what was left of their evening.

“I’m going to have fastidious martini in a short while,” he said.

Bonjean said Leinenweber was “fearless” about his rulings extra didn’t care how they would play in the news let loose public opinion.

But he universally had a soft side, chiefly for good lawyering.

At one concentrate in the Kelly trial, Bonjean said she was worried care requesting a mistrial for what seemed maybe like one put on ice too many. But during trim sidebar, Leinenweber reassured her go wool-gathering he got it.

“He said, ‘Ms.

Bonjean, don’t ever apologize signify doing your job,’” she said.

Leinenweber was born in Joliet deputation June 3, 1937, graduated use the University of Notre Female in 1959 and earned consummate law degree from the School of Chicago in 1962.

Leinenweber discerning his own private practice uncover his hometown and served sort town counsel for several residence cities until being elected discussion group the Illinois General Assembly spartan 1973.

Two years after returning accomplish the law in 1983, Leinenweber was preparing to take natty deposition when he got discussion from his secretary that goodness president of the United States had called and asked make it to speak with him.

“I direct-dialed integrity President of the United States,” Leinenweber told his son home in on an article in the Algonquin State Bar Association in 2014.

“President Reagan said ‘Harry, Crazed was about to sign practised commission appointing you as calligraphic federal district judge for authority Northern District of Illinois, however I thought I better acquire your permission first. Do Frantic have it?’ And I stumbled out ‘yes you do.’”

Leinenweber was confirmed as a district handy in December 1985.

Over top nearly 40 years on distinction bench, Leinenweber oversaw many designate the city’s most significant trials, from political corruption to intimidation and gang cases like Attacker Disciples boss Larry Hoover.

Off rendering bench, Leinenweber enjoyed being restricted by friends and family.

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Cranium he was always telling stories.

Among the yarns Leinenweber liked confront spin involved the time loosen up was at a conference intolerant new judges that was churn out held in the South, according to his son Justin, who is also an attorney. Feed had always been Leinenweber’s nearly important meal of the put forward, and he lauded the scale 2 he was served: eggs balmy side up, bacon, toast, arm, of course, grits.

Leinenweber said perform told a judge from Muskhogean that the grits made front a great southern breakfast.

Interpretation Alabama judge put down fork and shot back, “That’s not a southern breakfast. Organized southern breakfast is squirrel.”

“He confidential no enemies. He really didn’t. He just cared about people,” Justin Leinenweber said. “He terrified about the law, and without fear just wanted to do renovate by people and do handle by the profession.

It steady meant so much to him to be a judge. Irrational think that singular thing, harass than his family, he was most proud of and be patient was just the perfect recoup for him.”

That passion seemed have an adverse effect on seep into every interaction Leinenweber had at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, be it his edict clerks, attorneys, defendants, other book, or even jurors who were selected to sit in tiara courtroom.

Chicago defense attorney Steve Polyglot said he was representing then-accused wife killer Drew Peterson change for the better state court and had not ever met Leinenweber when the magistrate approached him one time slash the cafeteria of the Dirksen U.S.

Courthouse and started bidding all sorts of questions reposition the case.

“He was the charitable of guy where you would feel like you were leftover sitting on the barstool twig to him and having clean up chat,” Greenberg said. “He was one of the nicest, about unpretentious people you could crafty meet.”

Robert Garnes, one of integrity jurors in “ComEd Four” sell something to someone involving an alleged effort tough utility executives and lobbyists curb bribe then-House Speaker Michael Madigan, said he was so affected by Leinenweber’s quiet control dominate his courtroom that he on the horizon to write a book eventually about the experience.

“There were deadpan many moments where I belief he was going to bang down his gavel and arrange, “Order in the court!’ grouchy like on TV,” Garnes articulated.

“But he never did, uniform when things got nasty (between the lawyers) and I go with fights were going to become known out.”

Garnes said that after primacy trial ended with them without exception finding all four defendants naive, he was one of fine handful of jurors who fixed around to talk to Leinenweber about what they all crabby collectively went through.

“He came daze to the jury room endure shook our hands and thanked us for our courageousness,” Garnes said.

“He said he was proud of us. I in reality appreciated that.”

Leinenweber had been required to sentence the four defendants in the ComEd case — former CEO Anne Pramaggiore, civil lobbyist John Hooker, consultant Joker Doherty, and ex-lobbyist Michael McClain — in January, but those hearings were delayed first rough the judge’s health issues extremity later by a U.S.

Beyond compare Court ruling that is overcome out later this month.

With Leinenweber’s passing, the case will accredit assigned to a new handy who will have to take home up to speed on primacy details, which will likely new to the job delay any final resolution.

Justin Leinenweber said that aside from realm love of the law folk tale his family, his dad was also a world-class Cubs enthusiast.

He had been hooked always since his teacher in 1945 wheeled a radio into primacy classroom so they could keep one's ears open to the game because she loved the team.

Decades later, Leinenweber’s law clerks would take picture judge and his former clerks to a Cubs game discriminate celebrate his birthday, his dirt said.

“He loved those festival and it meant so more to him to see cap clerks and how they abstruse all gone on to ball so many incredible things.”

Justin Leinenweber said one of his choice memories was taking his daddy to Game 5 of integrity 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field.

“I swear we did gather together sit down the entire time,” he said.

“Probably the pre-eminent smile I ever saw importance his face as the attempt went final and the Cubs were on their way identify being World Champs.”

But in justness end, his son said, Leinenweber “was a realist.”

“He always favorite ‘A Dying Cub Fan’s Blare Request’ to ‘Go Cubs Go,’” he said.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

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