Justice Hyman’s remarks in presenting retired downstate judge Brockton Lockwood with IJA’s Distinguished Service Award

(Judge Lockwood received the IJA's Distinguished Service Award on October 8, following a program jointly presented by the IJA and the Chicago Bar Association, Operation Greylord: A Retrospective.)

In August 1983, the first public disclosures of what became known as Operation Greylord made headlines. Almost a year later, The Chicago Tribune quoted a Cook County associate judge, saying, “Such corruption was common knowledge: it was no secret.”

But nobody, no lawyer, no judge, no court employee—nobody—went to the authorities to disclose corrupt activity. Nobody... until a young, new downstate judge temporarily serving in Cook County courts went to the United States Department of Justice. His name, Brockton Lockwood.

Judge Lockwood refused to still his conscience, rejected the culture of complicity that existed, and then risked everything, including his judicial career, by going undercover to expose the evil that had taken root in the courts. Today we honor Judge Lockwood as a hero and bestow the Illinois Judges Association Distinguished Service Award on him.

What Judge Lockwood observed in the courtrooms of Cook County, as he explained in his fascinating book, Operation Greylord: Brockton Lockwood’s Story, was that “bribery was an open, established practice...Perhaps I was naïve, but I was shocked. Decisions were bought and sold like commodity futures." Lockwood adds, "I deeply believe that without an honest, open, independent judicial system our democracy will eventually fail.”

It took an honest, open, and independent judge from outside Cook County to expose the rampant corruption in the Cook County courts and set in motion deep transformational change. That change was radical and for many years now the Circuit Court of Cook County has had a reputation as one of the best judicial systems in the country where judges administer justice with integrity, fairness, dignity, fidelity to the law, and honesty. Credit for this transformation is also due to the work our chief judge, Timothy Evans.

Twenty- six years ago, in September 1988, The Special Commission on the Administration Justice in Cook County released its final report. In the conclusion, the Special Commission, also referred to as the Solovy Commission for its chair Jerry Solovy, said, “Judges and lawyers are the court system’s major participants; they set the standard of conduct for others. When judges and lawyers act corruptly, there is no hope of justice.”

“To have courage for whatever comes in life—everything lies in that.” These words of Mother Theresa apply to the life of Judge Brockton Lockwood.

Operation Greylord. Judge Brockton Lockwood entered the picture early—a testament to his personal courage and character. Eventually hundreds and hundreds of people, mostly from federal agencies, participated. It took hard work and ingenuity, careful preparation and perseverance, teamwork and tenacity. It also took a judge with a fair amount of moxie.

We are here today because of Judge Lockwood's resolve, his resolve to do what was good and right and just by coming forward. And, were that not enough, his resolve to go one step further and wade into the abyss himself.

All of this makes him a true hero deserving of our recognition, our thanks, and our eternal gratitude.

Who among us would risk our career in the job we loved, to expose corruption by colleagues? Before you tell yourself you would risk everything for principle, think again.

Wouldn’t you fear the consequences—for you, for your family? Wouldn’t you rationalize that the proper authorities must already know, someone had to have reported it, and besides, going to the authorities rarely does any good? Wouldn't you be more apt to just bite your lip, keep undeniably clean and stay clear of the mess?

At that time, at that place, for a judge to voluntarily come forward and inform and take the next step, that is, get personally involved in the investigation, could only happen if that judge possessed an unrelenting moral conscience, a reverence for truth, an inner courage, an unshakeable sense of duty, a spirit of patriotism, and a very stiff spine. Judge Brockton Lockwood was that judge.

From what we heard today and the record of Operation Greylord confirms it, many more judges were honest than dishonest. Only Judge Brockton Lockwood refused to turn aside, even though he had no idea of how profoundly it would alter his life or how severe the emotional toll could be.

Let me give you a little background on the Judge. He grew up in Southern Illinois, raised by his mother who divorced his father when Brockton was quite young. His father was never a part of his life. The young Brock- ton was close to his mother's father, a local farmer, whose old fashioned notions of right and wrong set the standard for his own. He attended Oberlin College and Vanderbilt University Law School. While in Nashville, he worked in the local U.S. attorney’s office.

In 1969, the newly minted attorney returned to southern Illinois, serving as a part-time city prosecutor in Marion at $400 a month, and setting up a private practice. He taught constitutional law courses at Southern Illinois University between 1972 and 1978. At 33, he was appointed an associate judge in Williamson County. You know some of what happened next. Once exposed as a mole, he never sat in Chicago again. He testified in one trial, in which defense counsel called him a "hillbilly" and painted him as gullible.

He resigned his judgeship in 1984, and went back to practicing law until 2000. That's when he was appointed an associate judge in Saline County. Judge Lockwood retired from the bench in 2006.

Judge Lockwood, you had the courage for what came in life—for you, for us, the judges, lawyers, and people of Cook County—“everything lies in that."

On behalf of the Illinois Judges Association, I present to Judge Brockton Lockwood the IJA Distinguished Service Award.