SPRINGFIELD [AP] -- U.S. District Judge J. Waldo Ackerman, chief federal judge for central Illinois and a key figure in probes of official corruption in the state, died Friday. He was 58.
Ackerman died in Memorial Medical Center here after a long battle with cancer, said Circuit Judge Ray Terrell, a colleague and family friend.
As an assistant state's attorney in Sangamon County in the 1950s, Judge Ackerman helped prosecute former State Auditor Orville Hodge who went to prison for embezzling more than $1 million from the state.
He also served as the county's attorney and Springfield corporation counsel and made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1960.
Later, as an assistant attorney general, he played a key role in the investigation of the $800,000 found in shoeboxes in former Secretary of State Paul Powell's hotel suite after Powell's death.
Born in Jacksonville, Fla., Judge Ackerman served in the Navy in World War II and the Korean War. He held bachelor's and law degrees from Marquette University.
He was appointed as a Sangamon County circuit judge in 1971 and served in that post until 1976 when he was named a federal judge by President Gerald Ford. He was named chief judge for the Central District in 1982.
Ackerman is survived by his wife, Doris; a daughter, Anne Dawson; two sons, James III, and Philip; a grandchild; and two sisters, Jane York, and Anita Harbaugh.
Chicago Tribune (IL)
Date: November 24, 1984
Ackerman died in Memorial Medical Center here after a long battle with cancer, said Circuit Judge Ray Terrell, a colleague and family friend.
As an assistant state's attorney in Sangamon County in the 1950s, Judge Ackerman helped prosecute former State Auditor Orville Hodge who went to prison for embezzling more than $1 million from the state.
He also served as the county's attorney and Springfield corporation counsel and made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1960.
Later, as an assistant attorney general, he played a key role in the investigation of the $800,000 found in shoeboxes in former Secretary of State Paul Powell's hotel suite after Powell's death.
Born in Jacksonville, Fla., Judge Ackerman served in the Navy in World War II and the Korean War. He held bachelor's and law degrees from Marquette University.
He was appointed as a Sangamon County circuit judge in 1971 and served in that post until 1976 when he was named a federal judge by President Gerald Ford. He was named chief judge for the Central District in 1982.
Ackerman is survived by his wife, Doris; a daughter, Anne Dawson; two sons, James III, and Philip; a grandchild; and two sisters, Jane York, and Anita Harbaugh.
Chicago Tribune (IL)
Date: November 24, 1984
SPRINGFIELD [AP] -- U.S. District Judge J. Waldo Ackerman, chief federal judge for central Illinois and a key figure in probes of official corruption in the state, died Friday. He was 58.
Ackerman died in Memorial Medical Center here after a long battle with cancer, said Circuit Judge Ray Terrell, a colleague and family friend.
As an assistant state's attorney in Sangamon County in the 1950s, Judge Ackerman helped prosecute former State Auditor Orville Hodge who went to prison for embezzling more than $1 million from the state.
He also served as the county's attorney and Springfield corporation counsel and made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1960.
Later, as an assistant attorney general, he played a key role in the investigation of the $800,000 found in shoeboxes in former Secretary of State Paul Powell's hotel suite after Powell's death.
Born in Jacksonville, Fla., Judge Ackerman served in the Navy in World War II and the Korean War. He held bachelor's and law degrees from Marquette University.
He was appointed as a Sangamon County circuit judge in 1971 and served in that post until 1976 when he was named a federal judge by President Gerald Ford. He was named chief judge for the Central District in 1982.
Ackerman is survived by his wife, Doris; a daughter, Anne Dawson; two sons, James III, and Philip; a grandchild; and two sisters, Jane York, and Anita Harbaugh.
Chicago Tribune (IL)
Date: November 24, 1984
Ackerman died in Memorial Medical Center here after a long battle with cancer, said Circuit Judge Ray Terrell, a colleague and family friend.
As an assistant state's attorney in Sangamon County in the 1950s, Judge Ackerman helped prosecute former State Auditor Orville Hodge who went to prison for embezzling more than $1 million from the state.
He also served as the county's attorney and Springfield corporation counsel and made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1960.
Later, as an assistant attorney general, he played a key role in the investigation of the $800,000 found in shoeboxes in former Secretary of State Paul Powell's hotel suite after Powell's death.
Born in Jacksonville, Fla., Judge Ackerman served in the Navy in World War II and the Korean War. He held bachelor's and law degrees from Marquette University.
He was appointed as a Sangamon County circuit judge in 1971 and served in that post until 1976 when he was named a federal judge by President Gerald Ford. He was named chief judge for the Central District in 1982.
Ackerman is survived by his wife, Doris; a daughter, Anne Dawson; two sons, James III, and Philip; a grandchild; and two sisters, Jane York, and Anita Harbaugh.
Chicago Tribune (IL)
Date: November 24, 1984
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