James W. Clement, 86, a Chicago patent lawyer who pushed for racial integration and equality in Chicago’s public schools, died of complications related to Parkinson’s disease Wednesday, Jan. 30, in Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago.
Mr. Clement served on the Chicago Board of Education from 1964 to 1966 and was a staunch opponent of Supt. Benjamin C. Willis, according to family and friends.
He objected to what he felt was Willis’ second-rate treatment of African-American students, and the two clashed bitterly over Willis’ plans to use mobile trailers to relieve overcrowding at predominately black schools.
“The thing that became a symbol of [their differences] was what came to be known as the `Willis Wagons,'” said his longtime friend, former Illinois state Sen. and comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch. “The [inner city] schools were overcrowded, and the district was not building anything for them. He in a sense sort of stood toe to toe … with Ben Willis, and that was not an easy thing to do.”
Mr. Clement also served as an adviser in Gov. Adlai Stevenson’s administration and mentored a number of state lawmakers, one of whom was former Illinois congressman and former U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Abner Mikva, who was elected to the state legislature in 1956.
“Like most freshman legislators, I barely knew where Springfield was, and Jim was very helpful in providing ideas, in telling me how to get things moving,” Mikva said.
A lifelong Illinois resident and a resident of Hyde Park for 50 years, he received bachelor’s degrees in physics and chemistry, and a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois. Afterward, he received his law degree from Northwestern University. As an undergraduate student, he spent two summers as a laborer in a Quaker work camp, building homes for coal miners in Pennsylvania and for landslide victims in Switzerland, according to family and friends.
Mr. Clement was a member of the Illinois Bar Association for 60 years, and was active in the American Civil Liberties Union and the Committee on Illinois Government, according to family and friends. He was a partner in the law firms Dressler, Goldsmith, Clement & Gordon and Clement & Ryan, and practiced law until shortly before his death.
Other survivors include his wife, Kathryn; a daughter, Kim Clement; three sons, John, Adam and Peter, and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Jill.
A memorial service will be held later.
