from the Army National Guard in 1954 as a major general. During his time in the Army, Kerner deeply impressed his commanding officer at the time, Jacob Arvey, who was also the leader of the Cook County Democratic party. This friendship proved beneficial to Kerner as it garnered him much support from local politicians, notably Richard J. Daley, who supported Kerner as a Democratic nominee. Political career In 1947, Kerner was appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, a post which he held until 1954. He then became a judge in the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County from 1954 to 1961. In both of those posts, Kerner was an advocate for reforming adoption laws and procedures. He also prosecuted famed automobile executive Preston Tucker for fraud, but Tucker was acquitted. He defeated incumbent William G. Stratton by more than 500,000 votes in the 1960 Illinois gubernatorial election and was re-elected in 1964, defeating moderate Republican Charles H. Percy. As governor, Kerner promoted economic development, education, mental health services, and equal access to jobs and housing. Some of his major economic developments were when he won the contract to build the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. In 1965 Kerner submitted an article called "Illinois Opens the Export Doors" in which he explained his goal to initiate the full employment granted by export trade citing a potential 250.000 workers that could be put to work. The primary goal was job creation, which to him was achieved through the improvement of trade. As a result, Kerner funded an Illinois Committee for Trade Expansion. His first mission to Europe in 1963 saw an additional $5 million generated for Illinoisan agriculturists. At that time Japan was the state's largest trading partner, with $145 million of annual trade. Kerner saw Japan as a valuable asset and thus funded the Illinois Far Eastern Movement which included many corporate delegates. Relations with Japan remained good; the Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, who had been previously invited by Kerner in 1965, gave an impressive speech in 1967 praising the state of Illinois for its continued trade with Japan. Kerner also proved competent in terms of welfare arrangements. Later on, his advances in mental health programs were so successful that they became a model for the coming national health reform. He served on the National Governors' Conference Executive Committee from 1967 to 1968, and chaired the Midwestern