Tom Foran

Thomas Aquinas Foran (January 11, 1924 – August 6, 2000)[1] was a United States Attorney best known as the chief prosecutor in the Chicago Seven conspiracy trial in which seven defendants, including Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, and Tom Hayden, were charged with inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Foran also prosecuted several police officers caught on film beating the protestors with clubs.

This article is about the US attorney. For the Irish politician, see Thomas Foran.
Tom Foran
Born
Thomas Aquinas Foran

(1924-01-11)January 11, 1924
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedAugust 6, 2000(2000-08-06) (aged 76)
Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S.
EducationLoyola University, Chicago (BA)
University of Detroit (LLB)

Biography

Thomas Foran was born in Chicago on January 11, 1924. He interrupted his college education to serve as a torpedo bomber pilot in the Pacific in World War II.[2] After the war, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Loyola University Chicago and received his law degree at the University of Detroit School of Law in 1950.[3]

Foran was a senior partner in Foran & Schultz (formerly Foran, Wiss & Schultz), the firm he founded in 1957.[4] The other senior partners were Robert E. Wiss, who died in 1995, and Richard G. Schultz.[5][6] In private practice, he established a reputation as an expert in eminent domain law, representing the City of Chicago in major public works projects, but he also acted as counsel for property owners.[4] Foran became an assistant corporate counsel for Chicago in 1962.[3]

Foran was appointed a United States Attorney for northern Illinois in 1968 with the support of the Chicago Mayor, Richard Daley.[3] While in this role, he successfully prosecuted more than 150 organized crime figures, including Felix Alderisio, Jackie Cerone, Fiore Buccieri, Richard Cain and William Daddano.[1]

He died of cancer in Lake Forest, Illinois, on August 6, 2000.[4][7]

Harris Yulin played Foran in the 1987 film Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8, and in the animated 2007 film Chicago 10 Foran's voice was provided by Nick Nolte. He was portrayed by Steven Culp in the 2010 film The Chicago 8 and by J. C. MacKenzie in the 2020 film, The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Gary Houston played Foran in the 1992 stage adaptation from transcripts titled The Chicago Conspiracy Trial and produced by Remains Theatre in Chicago.

References
  1. Jackson, Harold (August 15, 2000). "Thomas Foran". The Guardian. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  2. "2001 Laureate Award Winners | Illinois State Bar Association". Illinois State Bar Association. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  3. "Chicago Seven Prosecutor Thomas A. Foran". The Washington Post. August 11, 2000. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  4. Saxon, Wolfgang (August 11, 2000). "Thomas Foran, 76, U.S. Attorney Who Prosecuted Chicago Seven". The New York Times. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  5. "Robert E. Wiss". Chicago Tribune. October 24, 1995. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  6. Corfman, Thomas A. (December 7, 2000). "Ex-Prosecutor Foran's Law Firm to Close". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  7. "Thomas Foran; Prosecuted Chicago Seven". Los Angeles Times. August 12, 2000. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.