Ray Klingbiel
Encyclopedia
Ray I. Klingbiel was the Chief Justice of Illinois
in 1956–57, and again from 1964 to 1967. In 1969, while Klingbiel was still sitting on the Supreme Court of Illinois, a major Illinois scandal erupted when conspiracy theorist Sherman Skolnick
revealed that Klingbiel and Chief Justice Roy J. Solfisburg, Jr.
had corruptly accepted stock from the Civic Center Bank & Trust Company (CCB) of Chicago at the same time that litigation involving the CCB was pending at the Illinois Supreme Court. The scandal forced Klingbiel to resign.
. He attended public school in East Moline and then attended the University of Illinois
, which awarded him a law degree in 1924. While there, he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi
legal fraternity. After law school, Klingbiel returned to East Moline and served as a city attorney there for twelve years. From 1939 to 1945, he served as mayor of East Moline. During this period, Klingbiel established a reputation as a kingpin in the Rock Island County
and Downstate Illinois
political power structure.
, a position which he held until 1953, when he joined the Supreme Court of Illinois
. He served as member for the 4th District from 1953 to 1963, and then, following an amendment to the judicial article in the Illinois Constitution
in 1962, as member for the 3rd District from 1963 to 1969. He served as chief justice for the 1956–57 term and again from 1964 to January 1967.
He received an honorary doctorate of law from the Chicago-Kent College of Law
and was active with the Rotary Club and the Masonic Lodge
.
Evening-Telegraph before being picked up by all the major papers.
The Illinois House of Representatives
unanimously voted to appoint a special committee to investigate the matter, but before it could act, the Supreme Court, acting on its "inherent powers" granted a motion filed by Skolnick to appoint a special commission to investigate. (Ironically, the regular commission that investigated judicial malfeasance was chaired by Klingbiel.) The commission was co-chaired by the president of the Chicago Bar Association
and the president of the Illinois State Bar Association
. They named John Paul Stevens
, a private practitioner with a thriving antitrust
practice, as their independent counsel, thus setting the stage for Stevens' meteoric rise to the Supreme Court of the United States
.
During the course of the investigation, Klingbiel initially said that he had purchased the stock long after the decision in Isaacs, but when it was revealed that he had received the stock as a gift before the decision, he claimed that the stock was a campaign contribution, which did not seem plausible since it was received after the campaign was over and his campaign fund still had a lot of money in it. Stevens' investigation further revealed that Klingbiel was assigned the decision in Isaacs even though it wasn't his turn in the court's rotation, and he discovered evidence of Solfisburg suggesting that CCB officials "do something nice" for Klingbiel. When the commission reported back, it recommended that both Klingbiel and Solfisburg resign, which they grudgingly did a short time later.
Klingbiel remained bitter about the "political push" which took him from the bench and to the end refused to admit that he had done anything wrong.
Supreme Court of Illinois
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the state: Three justices from the First District and...
in 1956–57, and again from 1964 to 1967. In 1969, while Klingbiel was still sitting on the Supreme Court of Illinois, a major Illinois scandal erupted when conspiracy theorist Sherman Skolnick
Sherman Skolnick
Sherman Skolnick was a Chicago-based activist.At the age of six, Skolnick was paralyzed by polio, and he used a wheelchair for the rest of his life....
revealed that Klingbiel and Chief Justice Roy J. Solfisburg, Jr.
Roy Solfisburg
Roy J. Solfisburg, Jr. was the Chief Justice of Illinois for the 1962-63 term and again from 1967 to 1969. Solfisburg was elected to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1960, the first time in the states history, a sitting Justice was defeated by a challenger. This created a political stir having a...
had corruptly accepted stock from the Civic Center Bank & Trust Company (CCB) of Chicago at the same time that litigation involving the CCB was pending at the Illinois Supreme Court. The scandal forced Klingbiel to resign.
Background
Klingbiel was born on March 2, 1901 in East Moline, IllinoisEast Moline, Illinois
East Moline is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,333 at the 2000 census. East Moline is one of the five Quad Cities,, along with the cities of Rock Island, Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities has a population of 379,690...
. He attended public school in East Moline and then attended the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, which awarded him a law degree in 1924. While there, he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi
Phi Delta Phi
Phi Delta Phi, ΦΔΦ, is the world's second largest legal fraternity. Phi Delta Phi is the second oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States and third oldest in North America...
legal fraternity. After law school, Klingbiel returned to East Moline and served as a city attorney there for twelve years. From 1939 to 1945, he served as mayor of East Moline. During this period, Klingbiel established a reputation as a kingpin in the Rock Island County
Rock Island County, Illinois
Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 147,546, which is a decrease of 1.2% from 149,374 in 2000. Its county seat is Rock Island...
and Downstate Illinois
Downstate Illinois
Downstate Illinois refers to all of Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area. This term is flexible, but because it is generally meant to refer to everything outside the Chicago-area, some cities in Northern Illinois, such as Rockford and DeKalb, , are considered to be "downstate".The term...
political power structure.
Judicial career
In 1945, Klingbiel won election as an Illinois circuit judgeCircuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
, a position which he held until 1953, when he joined the Supreme Court of Illinois
Supreme Court of Illinois
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the state: Three justices from the First District and...
. He served as member for the 4th District from 1953 to 1963, and then, following an amendment to the judicial article in the Illinois Constitution
Illinois Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Illinois is the governing document of the state of Illinois. There have been four Illinois Constitutions; the fourth and current version was adopted in 1970.-History:...
in 1962, as member for the 3rd District from 1963 to 1969. He served as chief justice for the 1956–57 term and again from 1964 to January 1967.
He received an honorary doctorate of law from the Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago–Kent College of Law, the law school affiliated with Illinois Institute of Technology, is nationally recognized for the scholarship and accomplishments of its faculty and student body. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. Many of the applications of technology in the...
and was active with the Rotary Club and the Masonic Lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
.
The 1969 scandal
In 1969, Sherman Skolnick, head of the Citizens' Committee to Clean Up the Courts, examined the stockholder records of the Civic Center Bank & Trust Company (CCB) and discovered that both Klingbiel and Chief Justice Solfisburg owned stock in the CCB. This made him suspicious since in People v. Isaacs, the Supreme Court had upheld a dismissal of charges against Theodore J. Isaacs, the general counsel of the CCB and the records showed that the two justices acquired the stock shortly before their decision in Isaacs. Klingbiel's CCB stock was worth approximately $2500. Skolnick contacted several members of the media, and the story was broken in the AltonAlton, Illinois
Alton is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 27,865 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in Southern Illinois...
Evening-Telegraph before being picked up by all the major papers.
The Illinois House of Representatives
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
unanimously voted to appoint a special committee to investigate the matter, but before it could act, the Supreme Court, acting on its "inherent powers" granted a motion filed by Skolnick to appoint a special commission to investigate. (Ironically, the regular commission that investigated judicial malfeasance was chaired by Klingbiel.) The commission was co-chaired by the president of the Chicago Bar Association
Chicago Bar Association
Founded in 1874, the Chicago Bar Association is a voluntary bar association with over 20,000 members. Like other bar associations, it concerns itself with professional ethics, networking among members, and continuing legal education. It is located adjacent to the John Marshall Law School in the...
and the president of the Illinois State Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
The Illinois State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the country. Approximately 30,000 lawyers are members of the ISBA. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA membership is not required of lawyers licensed to practice in...
. They named John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
, a private practitioner with a thriving antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
practice, as their independent counsel, thus setting the stage for Stevens' meteoric rise to the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
.
During the course of the investigation, Klingbiel initially said that he had purchased the stock long after the decision in Isaacs, but when it was revealed that he had received the stock as a gift before the decision, he claimed that the stock was a campaign contribution, which did not seem plausible since it was received after the campaign was over and his campaign fund still had a lot of money in it. Stevens' investigation further revealed that Klingbiel was assigned the decision in Isaacs even though it wasn't his turn in the court's rotation, and he discovered evidence of Solfisburg suggesting that CCB officials "do something nice" for Klingbiel. When the commission reported back, it recommended that both Klingbiel and Solfisburg resign, which they grudgingly did a short time later.
Klingbiel remained bitter about the "political push" which took him from the bench and to the end refused to admit that he had done anything wrong.