John E. Clay, 93, passed away on Saturday, October 17, 2015 in Sarasota, FL. John was one of PILI’s founders and he served until his passing as a Life Director on PILI’s Board of Directors. He was a former president of the Board of Directors and a former Executive Director of PILI. We are so very thankful for all of John’s contributions and extend our deepest condolences to his family. John’s obituary is below.

John E. Clay
November 27, 1921 – October 17, 2015

John E. Clay, civil rights advocate, environmental activist, humanitarian, word maven, author, tree farmer, log cabin builder, mountain climber, skier, loving husband and father died in Sarasota shortly before his 94^th birthday of congestive heart failure. Passionate about living life fully, genuinely interested in other people’s lives and endeavors, he retained to the end an inspiring vitality and engagement with life. John’s many friends and family remember his enthusiasm for doing the “impossible” and he did so many times in his long life.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, a graduate of Carleton College and Harvard Law School, John was a senior partner in the Chicago law firm Mayor, Brown and Platt until his retirement in 1988. At that time he was also the President of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) in Chicago. He resigned as President and was hired as the first Executive Director of PILI. In this new role, John expanded the reach and positive impact of PILI’s programs on the lives of many people who could not have otherwise had access to legal services.

In 1952, John helped to convince Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois to run for President as part of a genuine “draft Adlai” movement. In 1968, he became chairman of a Chicago group that strongly supported Senator Eugene McCarthy’s first bid for President, which convinced President Johnson not to seek re-election due to strong opposition to the Vietnam War. When McCarthy ran again, in 1976, he picked John Clay as his running mate in Illinois. Their ticket received 60,000 votes.

In 2000, John published his book of words “by, for and against our presidents from Washington to Clinton” entitled “Snollygosters, Airheads and Wimps,” with a foreward by his longtime friend Eugene McCarthy.

John is cherished by his wife of 42 years, Mary Dailey, his two sons Peter and Scott (Katherine Mitchell), his daughter Anna McCann (David McCann) and grandchildren Brenton Clay, Andrew Clay, Nicholas McCann, Katherine McCann and Michael McCann.

Donations in honor of John’s life may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union or the Public Interest Law Initiative.

Every year, PILI chooses two Law Student Interns and two Graduate Fellows from the current class to serve as representatives on PILI’s Board of Directors and Alumni Network Leadership Council. These representatives serve two-year terms as non-voting members, and help us better serve our current PILIs by sharing their perspectives.

New Board Representatives:

• Amanda Walsh is currently an Equal Justice Work Fellow at the Legal Council for Health Justice. She recently graduated from Loyola University College of Law and was a Spring 2015 Intern at the Roger Baldwin Foundation – ACLU.
• Sarah Schultes is an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She recently graduated from the University of Chicago School of Law and was a Fellow at the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice in Summer 2015 and was a PILI Intern at Legal Council for Health Justice (f/k/a Aids Legal Council) in Summer 2013.

New Alumni Representatives:

• Jenna Silver is a second-year law student at  Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She was a Summer 2015 Intern at Equip for Equality.
• Brian Davis is an associate at Latham & Watkins. He recently graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and was a Fellow at the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic.

PILI also recently welcomed three new Board Members »

See a full list of our Board Members »

Learn more about our Alumni Network Leadership Council »