[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 169 (Thursday, October 19, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1390-E1391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN RECOGNITION OF THE 105TH BIRTHDAY OF GEORGE N. LEIGHTON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 2017

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 
Honorable George N. Leighton, who turns 105 years young on October 
22nd.
  George was born in New Bedford to Anna Silva Garcia and Antonio Neves 
Leitao, who emigrated from the Cape Verde Islands. During his 
childhood, George and his siblings helped their parents who worked as 
agricultural laborers, and they only attended school for a few months a 
year. It was while working as a cranberry bog weeder that George first 
decided to pursue a career in law.
  George finished school after the 7th grade and, while working in 
restaurant kitchens, started taking night classes. He then pursued a 
degree at Howard University, after he was able to prove he could 
complete college level work. This was the first time he would use 
English as his primary language. In 1940, George graduated magna cum 
laude from Howard University and held a commission as a Second 
Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves Officer Training Corps.
  An aspiring lawyer, George would stop at nothing and entered Harvard 
Law School with a scholarship later that year. As the United States 
entered World War II, George served in the Pacific Theater for almost 
three years and was awarded the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, Bronze 
Star. Discharged as a Captain in 1945, George reentered Harvard Law 
School. He then passed the Massachusetts bar in 1946 and established 
his law practice in Chicago.

[[Page E1391]]

  George faced heavy racial discrimination and was not allowed to join 
the American Bar Association or the Chicago Bar Association. Despite 
this atmosphere, he became one of the most prominent and respected 
criminal defense lawyers in Illinois. George often worked as the court-
appointed defense counsel for crimes of violence and with the NAACP and 
ACLU on cases of racial segregation. During this time he worked closely 
with Thurgood Marshall, among others, and was asked to represent 
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. George fought tirelessly for equal 
voting rights, desegregation in schools, open housing, the right to sit 
on juries, abolishing the death penalty; and fairness in the criminal 
justice system.
  In 1964, George was elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County, 
where he gained recognition as one of the finest criminal court judges. 
Later, in 1969, he was appointed to the First District Appellate Court 
of Illinois. After gaining a reputation as one of the most thoughtful 
and fair jurists, President Gerald Ford appointed George to the U.S. 
District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1976. After 
retiring in 1987 at the age of 75, George returned to the private 
practice of law to work on civil and criminal litigation, and to 
continue to teach at John Marshall Law School.
  A member of the bar for over 70 years, George exemplifies service to 
his community. He led his life fighting for a fair criminal justice 
system and, in 2011, George played a key role in successfully 
abolishing the death penalty in Illinois. In addition to the many 
honors George has received throughout his years fighting for equality, 
the U.S. Postal Service in New Bedford was also renamed after him, as 
the ``Honorable Judge George N. Leighton Post Office Building.''
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize the Honorable George N. Leighton 
on this joyous occasion of his 105th birthday. I ask that my colleagues 
join me in wishing him many more years of health and happiness.

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