Obituary: Retired Judge Milton Shadur, 93

GLENCOE, IL — Retired U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur, of Glencoe, died Monday at the age of 93. The former village trustee and founding member of Congregation Am Shalom presided over notable cases involving desegregation in Chicago schools, police torture and jail overcrowding during his 37 years on the federal bench.

Shadur announced he was stepping down from the bench last September as one of the longest-serving federal judges in the country. But according to his daughter Beth, he kept working on completing his remaining cases until the final days of his life at a Glenview hospice.

"I am profoundly saddened, but will always be so proud to have had not only a father beyond compare, but a man of honor and service to so many in this country," she wrote, announcing his death.

“Judge Milton Shadur devoted his life to upholding justice, to his country, and to his family," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement Tuesday. "He served the country bravely in uniform in World War II, honorably for 37 years on the bench, and will long be remembered for his sharp legal mind, independence and integrity."

Chief District Judge Rubén Castillo said that Shadur wrote more than 11,000 opinions during his time as a federal judge. They were "only a small reflection of his dedication to the rule of law,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

“In addition to this work, Judge Shadur has mentored a number of judges throughout his career, including me. Judge Shadur will be remembered for his passion — his passion for his wife and his family, the law and the Northern District of Illinois,” Castillo said.

Shadur was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 25, 1924. He grew up with three brothers on the same block as fellow former judge and North Shore resident Judge Abner Mikva, according to his daughter.

At age 18, Shadur graduated the University of Chicago with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and physics. He earned the rank of lieutenant serving in the Navy in World War II. He returned to the University of Chicago to earn a law degree in 1949 before entering private practice until his appointment to the federal bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1980.

“He left a legacy of public service and justice for all,” his daughter told the Chicago Tribune. She said her father taught the entire family that it was important to take a stand and take care of others. “He would say it doesn’t matter if someone was disenfranchised or poor or didn’t have opportunities, he wanted them to have the same legal representation."

Shadur among the first federal judges to acknowledge torture by the Chicago Police Department.

“It is now common knowledge,” Shadur wrote in 1999, “that in the early- to mid-1980s, Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge and many officers working under him regularly engaged in the physical abuse and torture of prisoners to extract confessions.”

Shadur served on the Glencoe Village Board from 1969 to 1974. The Village Manager at the time described him as the best trustee he ever encountered in more than three decades on the job, Pioneer Press reported. Shadur also supported the Ravinia Festival for more than 52 years, eventually becoming a life trustee in 1995.

One of his former law clerks described him as a kind and compassionate man who had a great respect for society and justice.

"He had love and loyalty to his wife beyond anything I have ever experienced with anyone else," Adam Hoeflich told the Glencoe News. "I've never seen anyone so devoted to his craft and to the law. Being Judge Shadur's clerk was an experience of having him mentor you in what was both a small law firm and family."

The judge's mind stayed sharp until the end, according to his daughter. When he was hospitalized in 2014, nurses kept asking him his name and birthday to check his mental acuity.

“He finally told a nurse, ‘If you really want to check someone’s memory, you should ask him to recite digits of Pi,’ ” Beth Shadur told the Chicago Sun-Times, “and then [he] recites the first 20 digits.”

Services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Congregation Am Shalom, 840 Vernon Ave., Glencoe.

Remembrances to The Ravinia Steans Music Institute or The Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago would be appreciated in lieu of flowers.

_{Top photo: The Honorable Milton Shadur | Courtesy Mitzvah Funeral Home}