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Jim Burns (basketball)
American basketball player and lawyer (1945–2020) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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James Burton Burns (September 21, 1945 – December 11, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois from 1993 until 1997 under President Bill Clinton.
He also ran alongside Neil Hartigan as the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in the 1990 election, which they narrowly lost. He later ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1998, finishing fourth of six candidates in the Democratic primary.
Before his law career, he was a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA).
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Early life and basketball career
A native of Quincy, Illinois, Burns was an all-state player who led McLeansboro High School to a fourth-place finish in the 1962 State Championship Tournament.[1] He then played collegiately for Northwestern University, 1964–67, where he led the team in scoring all three seasons, was both All-American and Academic All-American in 1967, was All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten in 1966 and '67, and is still Northwestern's 12th all-time scorer, 3rd in scoring average, 10th in both field goals and free throws made, and 6th in points in a game (40).[2] He was inducted into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.[3]
He was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the fourth round (34th pick overall) of the 1967 NBA draft. He played only three games with the Bulls during the 1967–68 season where he teamed with fellow McLeansboro native Jerry Sloan. Burns also played for the Dallas Chaparrals (1967–68) in the ABA for 33 games.[4]
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Legal and political careers
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Following his short professional basketball career, Burns returned to Northwestern, earning his Juris Doctor degree. He first worked as a federal prosecutor from 1971 until 1978, eventually serving as the chief of the criminal litigation division. Moving to work in private practice, he was also active in Democratic politics. He was selected by Neil Hartigan to be his running mate as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in the 1990 election. He was chosen because his legal experience would help bolster Hartigan's commitment to battle against alcohol and drug use in Illinois schools.[5]
In 1992, he was appointed the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He replaced Fred Foreman in the position.[6] His investigations of and prosecutions for political corruption gained him public recognition and popularity. It has also been claimed that those same things antagonized many powerful Democrats, so that his 1998 campaign for governor was not strongly supported.[7][8] Despite his popularity and the Republicans' admission that he was the candidate they most feared, Burns finished fourth out of six candidates.[9] During the campaign, he enjoyed early support from then-Speaker Michael J. Madigan.[10]
In April 2000, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White appointed Burns as his inspector general,[11] a position he held until his death.[12] Burns died on December 11, 2020, at the age of 75.[13]
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Personal life
He is the father of actress Heather Burns.
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA/ABA
Regular season
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References
External links
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