Otto Kerner, Jr. Biography

Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was the 33rd Governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968. He chaired the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission) and was imprisoned after a federal prosecution. While Kerner suspected that his prosecution was politically motivated, Nixon Oval Office tape (NARA 506-13), proves collusion by President Richard Nixon and his Attorney General John Mitchell to "get him" in retribution for rulings as a sitting federal judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and for promoting the controversial findings of the Commission.