Springfield lost a legal community stalwart on July 16 when Judge Richard "Dick" Mills of Springfield passed away. A child of the Great Depression, Richard grew up in the river town of Beardstown, weaned on small-town values he learned at home, in church and in a one-room schoolhouse.
Mills had many dimensions to his life, with each dimension embodying the principles he held most dear. First and foremost, he was a lawyer, born into a family of lawyers. His father and grandfather were lawyers, as well as an uncle. He never doubted this would be his profession.
Mills once commented that "a law degree is like a doctorate in common sense," a point of view that served him well. He began his law career in 1957 at the family's Beardstown law practice and served as state's attorney in Cass County from 1960 to 1964. Beginning in 1966 he spent the next 56 years on the bench. He started as the circuit judge for the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Illinois, proud that his first session in that capacity was conducted in the same room where Abraham Lincoln once served as a defense attorney. From 1976 to 1985 Mills served as a justice of the Appellate Court of Illinois, and in 1985 President Ronald Reagan nominated him for the bench as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of Illinois.
Like so many men of his generation, Richard was a joiner, always seeking ways to serve his community. When he was 12 he became a Boy Scout. His involvement with scouting did not end after becoming an Eagle Scout. As an adult he was devoted to it, saying, "I'll never be able to repay it for what it did for me and my growing years." He went on to serve two terms as president of the Boy Scouts' Abraham Lincoln Council in Springfield. His two sons, two brothers, four nephews, and two great-nephews were all Eagle Scouts. He sent hand-written letters to all those who became Eagle Scout in his council – hundreds of them.
Fresh out of college, Mills was drafted into the Army in 1952 and arrived in South Korea in early 1953. He was assigned to a counter-intelligence detachment, working for the 3rd Infantry Division intelligence chief, Major S.D. Eisenhower. Mills' duties included interrogating prisoners of war as well as civilians caught sneaking across the lines. He was discharged shortly thereafter.
In 1961 he returned to military service, this time as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. During the height of the Vietnam War, Mills served with the Selective Service System in Springfield, helping to determine draft deferments and adjudicate draft violations. Colonel Mills retired from the Reserves in 1985.
Dick met Rachel Keagle in 1962 in Springfield. A friend was hosting a small party at his house, rolling up a rug for some dancing. "I see this good-looking blonde out on the floor," Dick recalled, "and I thought, 'Oh, I think I'd like to meet her.'" Ironically, he cut in on another young man named Dick Mills. After a short courtship, they were married. "That's the best decision I ever made in my life," he was happy to say. Two sons, Jon and Daniel, soon made their family complete.
Writing and public speaking are integral to the success of justices, and Judge Mills delivered masterfully in both regards. He authored an astonishing 1,150 opinions while on the Appellate Court, and while a U.S. District Judge he penned over 177 opinions and dispositions. As a public speaker he had few peers.
"I've been surrounded by Mr. Lincoln my entire life," Mills once said upon reflecting on his life. Not only did he launch his judicial career in the same courtroom as Lincoln did, he also traveled some of the same terrain as Lincoln rode while on the circuit. And when it came time for Mills to swear in new citizens during naturalization ceremonies, he did so in the House chamber of the Old State Capitol, the same room where Lincoln gave his immortal "House Divided" speech. In the process, he imbued America's newest citizens with a bit of his own love of country.
Given the longevity of his legal career, Mills mentored countless young lawyers, a responsibility he took seriously. "If we don't try to mentor someone along the way," he once said, "what use are we!"
One of those he mentored wrote this upon Judge Mills' passing. "Love of America and Richard Mills are synonymous. ... Judge Mills was a model citizen, an outstanding jurist, an accomplished scholar, a loyal patriot, and most of all, a loving husband, father, son and grandfather."
It is a fitting eulogy for a remarkable man and a life very well lived.
Mark DePue of Springfield is the former director of oral history at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The interview on Judge Mills' Korean War experiences can be found at the oral history program's website at www.oralhistory.illinois.gov.
