Legendary 93-year-old Judge Shadur to retire

Venerable U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur is set to retire Sept. 1 after 37 years on the bench.

"Judge Shadur has authored over 11,000 district court opinions, many of which directly impacted the rights of thousands of individuals," Chief Judge Rubén Castillo said in a prepared statement announcing the retirement. "No other member of our court can match this stunning body of written work. Early in his career he wrote a number of opinions as he monitored the implementation of a desegregation plan for the Chicago public school system."

Shadur, 93, decided to retire because of complications from recent surgery.

A University of Chicago graduate, he was nominated for the bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. Before that, he had been in private practice for more than 30 years.

Over the years, Shadur ruled over several high-profile cases including the disappearance of candy heiress Helen Voorhees Brach and the financial scandal involving for Chicago Alderman Edward R. Vrdolyak.

In the Vrdolyak case, Shadur created headlines by allowing Vrdolyak probation rather than prison time partly because of the "overwhelming" number of letters he'd received offering character references for Vrdolyak, including one from Chicago Bear Brian Urlacher.

For more, check chicago.suntimes.com.