Bernard Judge (January 6, 1940 – June 14, 2019) was an American journalist who served in management positions at the

City News Bureau of Chicago City News Bureau of Chicago (CNB), or City Press (1890-2005), was a news bureau that served as one of the first cooperative news agencies in the United States. It was founded in 1890 by the newspapers of Chicago to provide a common source of local ...

, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' and the ''

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin The ''Chicago Daily Law Bulletin'' (''CDLB'') is a daily newspaper in Chicago, Illinois that covers the region's local court systems and the legal community. Founded in 1854, it is the oldest daily court newspaper in the United States. Content P ...

''.

Early life and education

Judge was born on Chicago's South Side to an Irish immigrant father. Judge graduated from Our Lady of Peace Catholic School. Judge attended

Leo Catholic High School Leo Catholic High School is a private all-male, Catholic high school in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located in the Archdiocese of Chicago and home to a predominantly African–American student bod ...

in Chicago. Judge moved with his family to

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...

, and transferred to Fenwick High School in Oak Park, where he graduated in 1957. Judge then attended

John Carroll University John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio. It is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. John Carroll has an enrollment of 3, ...

but did not graduate.

Professional career

Judge served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a clerk at a Nike Missile site in Pennsylvania. After being discharged from the Army in 1964, Judge worked briefly at the old U.S. Steel South Works site prior to starting his career the newspaper business. Judge eventually built a national reputation. When actor

Edward Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...

portrayed a city editor

Lou Grant Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character was ...

, he sought Judge's advice about the nuances of running a newsroom. Judge began his career as a reporter at

in 1965. Judge subsequently took a job with the

to cover state and federal courts and government. During Judge's tenure, two investigative reporting projects he directed won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

.. Judge later served as a juror for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize awards. Judge returned to the

in 1983 as the Editor and General Manager. Judge then joined the

as the metropolitan editor and associate editor, where he directed a series and other projects that won over 20 state and national awards, which the series by Charles Nicodemus killed the plan to establish a new central library and set the stage for the

Harold Washington Library The Harold Washington Library Center is the central library for the Chicago Public Library System. It is located just south of the Loop 'L', at 400 S. State Street in Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a full-service library and is A ...

. Judge left the

to become the editor and vice president of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Judge became the Law Bulletin's publisher in 2001. At the newspaper's 150th anniversary celebration in 2004, Chief Judge Joel M. Flaum of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said, "The paper has bound many generations of lawyers together. It is extremely well led by Bernard Judge, who has been a beacon of excellence wherever he's been. And never has that beacon shone more brightly than at the Law Bulletin." Upon Judge's retirement in 2007, former

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...

Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald stated "He has endeared himself to hundreds, if not thousands, of lawyers because of his integrity. He understood it wasn't only getting the story, it was getting it right."

Retirement

After retiring, Judge was a non-lawyer Hearing Board Officer for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), where he served as a trial judge in lawyer disciplinary cases. In April, 2012, the

appointed Judge to serve as a Commissioner of the ARDC. Judge also served on the Illinois State Admissions Review Committee that was responsible for reviewing claims that some applicants to the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

received special treatment. The blue ribbon panel's response to the

University of Illinois clout scandal The University of Illinois clout scandal resulted from a series of articles in the ''Chicago Tribune'' that reported that some applicants to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC) "received special consideration" for acceptance ...

included recommendations of reforms to improve the fairness and transparency of the admissions process. Judge also become a first-time author in retirement. Along with Neal Samors, Judge co-authored ''Chicago's Lake Shore Drive: Urban America's Most Beautiful Roadway''.

Personal

Judge was married to Kimbeth Wehrli Judge, and had three children.

Death

Judge died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

at his Chicago home on June 14, 2019.

Awards

*Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame *Illinois Bar Foundatio

2006 Distinguished Award for Excellence *Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago Bill of Rights in Action award (2001) *Headline Club lifetime achievement award *

City Club of Chicago The City Club of Chicago is a 501 (c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization intended to foster civic responsibility, promote public issues, and provide Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois with a forum for open political debate. The ...

Excellence in Journalism award *Illinois Press Association James C. Craven Freedom of the Press Award *Fenwick High School Hall of Fame *Fenwick Accipiter Award (first recipient, 1997)

Board Memberships

*Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago *

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...

*Illinois First Amendment Center (Chairman, 2008) *Fenwick High School

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Judge, Bernard M. 1940 births 2019 deaths American people of Irish descent Chicago Sun-Times people Chicago Tribune people Deaths from cancer in Illinois Deaths from pancreatic cancer Writers from Oak Park, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois United States Army soldiers Journalists from Chicago