John F. Grady Endowment

The ABA is excited to partner with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to maintain the Honorable John F. Grady Endowment. The endowment is named for the late Judge John F. Grady, who passed away in December 2019 after 39 years of distinguished service as a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Grady’s service was marked by an unwavering dedication to upholding the rule of law, and by compassion for the individuals and institutions affected by the Court’s decisions. The endowment’s mission of exposing Illinois educators and their students to the Court’s work is an appropriate addition to Judge Grady’s legacy of public service. The Endowment supports a summer teacher’s institute and student court visits.

About Judge Grady

John F. Grady earned a reputation as one of the nation’s most respected and pioneering federal trial judges during his 39 years of service as a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.  Judge Grady presided over some of the most important matters to come before the Court in the latter half of the 20th Century.

In the landmark 1980 antitrust trial brought by MCI Communications Corp. against AT&T Co., Judge Grady entered a $1.8 billion damages judgment against AT&T, which later settled with MCI after an appeal.  In June 1982, Judge Grady handed down stiff sentences after a federal jury convicted ten Chicago police officers of accepting bribes to allow drug-dealing on Chicago’s West Side in what was known as the “Marquette Ten” case.  Judge Grady was known for ushering in an era of harsher sentences in public corruption cases, imposing lengthy prison terms in 1977 on officials of the agency now known as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for accepting $1 million in bribes in exchange for letting a lucrative sludge-hauling contract. In another significant case, Judge Grady in 1983 held that an airline’s firing of a pilot who had undergone a sex-change operation constituted unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a ruling that was reversed before the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately vindicated Judge Grady’s position 36 years later, in 2020.  Judge Grady also was among the first federal trial judges to allow jurors to take notes and to submit questions to witnesses in civil trials. Lawyers who practiced before Judge Grady, and his former law clerks, often said that he was a man ahead of his time. 

A Chicago native, Judge Grady earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from Northwestern University. Judge Grady served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago from 1956 to 1961 and was Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division from 1960 to 1961. He then practiced law in Waukegan, Illinois, for nearly 15 years, 13 of them as a sole practitioner specializing in civil trial and appellate practice, before being appointed to the federal bench by President Gerald R. Ford in 1975. Judge Grady’s tenure on the Court included service as chief judge from 1986 to 1990.  He passed away on December 2, 2019, at the age of 90. 

Donor-Advised Funds 

Donor-Advised Funds: Making a contribution to the ABA FJE through your Donor-Advised Fund provides an immediate gift to improve access to justice.

Unlock the potential of your Donor Advised Fund (DAF) in three easy steps:

1. Recommend a grant distribution through your DAF administrator
2. Reference the ABA FJE’s EIN 36-6110299
3. Indicate that the grant is designated to the ABA charitable program of your choice.

You can visit DAF Direct to start the process now.

IRA Charitable Distribution

If you are age 70 ½ or older, you may make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) of up to $105,000 from your IRA account and receive favorable tax results.