Sam Skinner mourns loss of mentor, friend Jim Thompson
Sam Skinner heard the sad news Friday night when he received a call from Jayne Thompson. Her husband, former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson, had died at age 84 in Chicago.
"I've been processing it ever since," Skinner said. "He was my dearest friend and my mentor. My boss. Everybody saw. He was truly one of a kind. He was probably the greatest public servant in Illinois history other than Abraham Lincoln, frankly.
"He did it all. He was an extraordinary lawyer and represented the state of Illinois in many cases before the Illinois Supreme Court and others. He was the best U.S. Attorney in the country. When he was U.S. Attorney, it wasn't even a close second. What he did in that office was extraordinary.
"And he was a great mentor. The men and women he mentored - seven of them went on the U.S. District Court or the federal Court of Appeals. Four of them became managing partners at four of the biggest law firms in Chicago. Three of them because U.S. Attorneys."
Thompson is best known for serving 14 years as governor, but he made his name while serving as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois by convicting former Gov. Otto Kerner Jr. of federal crimes.
"The most significant case to ever be tried in the district in my opinion. That includes Capone and everything else," said Skinner, who worked with Thompson on that case.
Skinner recalled when the grand jury handed down charges against Kerner, then a federal appeals judge and also the former chairman of President Lyndon Johnson's Kerner Commission, which looked into the causes of 1967 race riots. Thompson decided it was important to tell Kerner of the indictment personally, and Thompson asked Skinner to join him.
"So we went up to Judge Kerner's chambers in the same building we were in, on the top floor, and told Judge Kerner that he had been charged by the grand jury. And I thought that took a lot of courage to do that," Skinner said.
Skinner, who lives in Winnetka, said he wound up in President George H.W. Bush's cabinet because of Thompson. They led Bush's 1988 presidential campaign effort in Illinois, and when Bush called after the election to congratulate them on carrying the state, Thompson recommended Skinner become Secretary of Transportation.
"He was always promoting everybody else, always promoting people. The loyalty of his friends is incredible. They all know that they wouldn't be where they are today if it wasn't for him," Skinner said.