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Schakowsky Statement After House Votes to Rename Evanston Post Office in Honor of Abner J. Mikva

September 22, 2016

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky released the following statement after the House of Representatives voted to rename the Evanston Post Office (located on Davis St.) in honor of Abner J. Mikva:

“I am so thrilled that we are going to pay an appropriate tribute to the life and legacy of Abner Mikva,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky. “Ab was one of the few Americans to hold the distinction of serving in all three branches of the federal government. He passed away on July 4 of this year. On that day America lost a great patriot, and I also lost a very precious friend and mentor.”

“People in Evanston are smiling today remembering Abner Mikva,” said Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl. “He was a great man and a good man. His name should be on our post office and now it will.”

“What a great tribute!” said Mary Mikva, daughter of Abner J. Mikva. “It combines three things my Dad loved: Congress, Evanston and getting and sending letters.”

Below are the floor remarks that Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky delivered(link is external) in support of renaming the Evanston Post Office:

Ab is, as my colleague mentioned, one of the few Americans to hold the distinction in serving in all three branches of the federal government. You know, when Abner Mikva was a young man, he went to the office of a Chicago ward committeeman asking to volunteer and his offer was rebuffed with the remark, “We don't want nobody nobody sent.” Well, unswayed, Abner Mikva devoted his life to public service and to politics.

Abner Mikva was born in 1926 in Milwaukee. He enrolled in the Army Air Corps in 1944, serving as a navigator in the Army Air Corps during World War II. In 1951 he received a law degree from the University of Chicago, and after graduation served as a clerk to Associate Judge Sherman Minton on the Supreme Court.

In 1956 Abner Mikva was elected to the Illinois General Assembly, where he served for five consecutive terms. He was then elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1968 where he represented the south side Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, that's Barack Obama’s neighborhood. After redistricting in 1971, Ab Mikva moved to Evanston.

In 1974 he won the election to represent Illinois’ 10th congressional district which was based at that time in Evanston, my hometown. Abner Mikva was elected in three consecutive elections to represent the people of Evanston and the surrounding north shore communities in the United States House. His campaigns were notable for their involvement of thousands of young people in his robust grassroots election effort. 18-year-olds had recently been granted the constitutional right to vote and he recruited and enlisted many of them. Many of these young people became effective political organizers, transforming the nature of political campaigns over the last four decades.

Ab Mikva was nominated in his third term as appointee to the U.S. court of appeals for the District of Columbia, where he served alongside jurists Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. During his final four years on the D.C. Court, Abner Mikva served as Chief Judge. He was then selected by President Clinton in 1994 to the White House counsel.

After a year as White House counsel, Abner Mikva returned to the Chicago area and taught at Northwestern University in Evanston. In 1997, Abner Mikva and his beloved wife and partner, Zoe, started what they call the Mikva Challenge, continuing his effort to engage young people in civic leadership. Each year the Mikva Challenge engages 7,000 young people, students in programs across the Chicagoland area. These are high school kids. Students volunteer on campaigns of both parties, serve as election judges, intern in legislative offices and learn how to be effective advocates on issues they care the most about.

In 2014, President Obama recognized Abner Mikva's service to this country with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our highest civilian honor. When honoring Ab Mikva, President Obama said, “Ab transcends any single moment in recent political history but he had a hand in shaping some of the best of it”. And Abner Mikva said receiving the presidential Medal of Freedom from his friend, Barack Obama, was, “the greatest thing that ever happened to me”. Abner Mikva remains a revered fighter in Illinois and a favorite son of Evanston, remembered for his enduring wit, humanity and the ongoing legacy of the Mikva Challenge. And let me just say personally that on July 4, 2016, while America lost a great patriot, I also lost a very precious friend and mentor and I am so happy that we are going to pay an appropriate tribute to his great memory and his legacy and I yield back.