Talk:Otto Kerner Jr.

Kerner Commission

User:M dorothy added the following to the main article:

Kerner was prosecuted by the Richard Nixon Administration. His real "crime" was writing the Kerner Commission Report, which offended the Nixon Administration. In addition, he described the disorder surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago as a "police riot".

I do not believe this adds to the article in a factual, relevant and verifiable way for the following reasons:

• While it is true that Jim Thompson was a Republican appointee as U.S. Attorney, there is no reason to believe that the prosecution was controlled by the Nixon Administration. Do you have any support for your allegation? If the prosecution were politically motivated, it seems much more likely that the goals of the Illinois Republican Party and Jim Thompson's political aspirations would have played the largest roles, not some grudge of the far-off Nixon Administration.

• The Kerner Commission was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 and delivered its report in early 1968. Nixon was not elected until November, 1968 - long after the report was released. Why would the report offend the Nixon Administration?

• You say "he" described the disorder in Chicago as a "police riot." Actually, the report of the Kerner Commission did state that the attacks by police on the demonstrators, bystanders, journalists and photographer amounted to "what can only be called a police riot." It would be good to add that information to the current article on the Kerner Commission but it has little to do with Governor Kerner himself. Although he was the chairman of of the Kerner Commission, there is little evidence that he had much to do with the actual authorship of the Commission's report, as your sentence seems to imply.

-- DS1953 ^talk 07:00, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

Errors in article

On July 31, User:Tomtptb added the following to the main article:

I was counsel to Kerner in this case. There are numerous errors. First, Mrs. Everett never admitted bribing Gov Kerner. She said the opposite in the trial. The conviction was based on the testimony of William Miller who said that he offered shares of stock to Kerner and said that it was for him to "look on Mrs. Everett favorably" The conviction had nothing to do with getting throughways built for her track. There was no evidence that racing dates were changed. Kerner reported the stock gains on his tax returns. He always maintained his innocence and maintained that he was offered a stock option, which did not violate any Illinois law. Kerner and his counsel also always maintained that the prosecution was engineered by Richard Nixon and his attorney general John Mitchell because Kerner's victory in 1960 carried Kennedy into the White House.

I've moved that statement to the Talk Page, where it is more appropriate. Shsilver (talk) 19:00, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Fall of Kerner

Just like the Fall of Man. Governor Kerner was brought down due to the actions of a woman, Marge Lindheimer Everett.