Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician. He served as the 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and chaired the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission). He was then appointed a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He was forced to step down from the bench after being convicted of mail fraud in 1974. Early life Kerner was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 15, 1908, the son of Rosalie [née Chmelíková] (1885-1979) and Otto Kerner, Sr. (1884–1952). His father, born in Chicago to Czech immigrants from Ronov nad Doubravou and Hrazánky, served as Illinois Attorney General and a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. His mother was born in Lišov and came to America with her parents and sisters. Born into the Czech community of Chicago, he was named after his father. After graduating with an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Brown University in 1930, Kerner attended Trinity College, Cambridge in England from 1930 to 1931. In 1934, he received a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago and was admitted to the Illinois bar. On October 20, 1934, he married Helena Cermak, daughter of the late Anton Cermak, who had been mayor of Chicago before he was shot and mortally wounded in Miami, Florida, in 1933 by Giuseppe Zangara in what may have been an attempt on the life of president-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. Kerner joined the 33rd Division of the Illinois National Guard in 1934 and because of his time in the National Guard he was quickly granted a commission when the Second World War broke out. In 1942, he entered active duty in World War II, serving as a field artillery officer in the 9th Infantry Division of the United States Army in North Africa and Italy and in 32nd Infantry Division in the Pacific. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for merit and the Soldier's Medal for rescuing a drowning soldier off the coast of Sicily. He was released from active duty in 1946 as a lieutenant colonel and rejoined the Illinois National Guard. In the 33rd Division, Kerner was promoted to the rank of colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard that same year and to brigadier general in 1951. He retired