Former US attorney, pro basketball player dies at 75
During an unsuccessful bid for the 1998 Democratic governor nomination, Jim Burns played off his athletic accomplishments in his first campaign ad, making a short jumper and asking voters to “giveme a shot” at public office.
Asked how many takes it took before he sunk the basket, Burns replied, “Frankly, my pride won’t let me answer that.”
Burns, whose success took him from the basketball court to the federal courthouse as U.S. attorney but never to public elective office, died Friday. He was 75.
The death was announced by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who appointed Burns in April 2000 to serve as inspector general, a job he had held ever since. Burns took the post as federal investigators were continuing their Operation Safe Road corruption probe of the office under White’s predecessor, George Ryan, who was elected governor in 1998. Ryan was released from prison in 2013 after being sentenced to 6½ years on corruption charges.
“As a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Burns worked tirelessly in his role as inspector general to help restore integrity and eliminate all forms of institutionalized corruption and wrongdoing in the secretary of state’s office,” White said in a statement.
“Burns was a strong, visible and independent inspector general, and I am grateful for all he accomplished. Burns restored the public trust and changed the culture of the office. His legacy of honesty, fairness and transparency leaves an indelible mark on the secretary of state’s office and the state of Illinois,” White said.
Born in Quincy and raised in McLeansboro in southeastern Illinois, he led his high school to fourth place in the state basketball tournament before getting a scholarship to Northwestern University.
He won third-team All-America, Academic All-America and All-Big Ten honors in his senior season with the Wildcats in 196667 and graduated with a degree in history. He spent a year professionally with the Chicago Bulls and then the Dallas Chaparrals in the American Basketball Association in 1967 before a torn Achilles tendon late in the season ended his playing days.
He returned to Northwestern in 1968 and received a law degree in 1971. Burns then served as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1971 to 1978 and moved to the position of chief of the criminal division.
He then went into private practice, serving as a regulatory partner with Isham, Lincoln and Beale from1978 to 1987 and then became a defense and regulatory partner with Keck, Mahin and Cate from1987-1993.
It was then that Burns was appointed to the top federal prosecutor’s position in Chicago under President Bill Clinton. Former Mayor Richard M. Daley and the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Simon clashed over the appointment. Daley favored Dick Devine, who had been a top aide when Daley served as Cook County state’s attorney. Simon feared Devine was too close to Daley, and Devine later was elected state’s attorney.
As U.S. attorney, Burns led the prosecution of several high-profile cases involving the violent El Rukn street gang, public corruption, international drug smuggling, organized crime, white collar financial fraud and environmental and civil rights violations. He held the post until 1997.
Burns also had an interest in politics and knew the role the U.S. attorney’s office played in vaulting the late Republican James R. Thompson from the job to become Illinois’ longest serving governor.
“If we do a really first-rate job here, then I think there are going to be some very exciting options,” Burns said in 1994.
He already had been defeated in one statewide race, serving as the lieutenant governor pick of Democratic governor candidate Neil Hartigan, a former state attorney general. But the duo lost the 1990 race to then-Republican Secretary of State Jim Edgar, who succeeded Thompson as governor.
Burns gave up the federal prosecutor’s post for a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1998. But his late entry and a scattered field left money and support splintered, and Burns finished fourth as then-Downstate U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard took the nomination. Poshard lost to Ryan in the general election.
Burns returned to private practice at Sidley & Austin before being named to the inspector general’s job by White, whose office looked to try to restore voter integrity as a result of the federal investigations left under Ryan.
Burns moved to expand the size of the inspector general’s office, make it more professional and broaden its powers to investigate corruption.
But the 6-foot-4 Burns retained a passion for basketball. In his first state fly-around as a governor candidate, he stopped at his birthplace of Quincy. It was there, in the backyard behind then-Mayor Chuck Scholz’s home, that Burns shot a few hoops for local TV cameras. First, he missed a layup. Then, he tossed up a brick that bounced off the rim.
“The start was a little rocky,” Burns said. “But then I knocked down a few hook shots, and it started coming back.”
Burns is survived by his wife, Marty, and three children. Services were pending.