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'Mr. School Law' remembered as selfless humanitarian

Posted November 14, 2007 10:00 pm

Chris Dettro

A Springfield native who became known as "Mr. School Law" for the legal work he did for school districts in Illinois died Nov. 11 of natural causes at his Deerfield home.

Allyn J. Franke, 88, was the grandson of the founder of Paris Cleaners in Springfield and was the first in his family to go to college.

Franke graduated from Springfield College in Illinois in 1939, then attended the University of Chicago, where he earned his undergraduate and law degrees in the same year, 1942.

In 1948, he argued a case before the Illinois Supreme Court that established state authority over local school districts, then handled much of the legal work that created consolidated school districts throughout the state.

He married the former Rita Link of Springfield in 1945 after renewing acquaintances with her on a train in Chicago. The couple had five children, including a son who was killed along with a daughter-in-law and a grandchild in a 1996 car accident.

Franke retired from Hinshaw & Culbertson in Chicago in March 2006.

Franke's younger brother, Richard Franke, is retired chairman and CEO of John Nuveen & Co. Inc. and one of the nation's most prominent supporters of the humanities.

Richard Franke told the Chicago Tribune that his older brother introduced him to the fact there was a world to be experienced, and couldn't be done by staying in Springfield.

He said Allyn Franke and his friends from the University of Chicago represented to him the window to that world.

Bill O'Keefe practiced law with Allyn Franke from 1963 to 1969, and in a comment on his obituary notice in the Tribune, called him "the most selfless man who I have ever encountered."

"Al never cared about the buck," O'Keefe said. "He did whatever he had to to help many of the small school districts which existed in those days."

O'Keefe said he wasn't surprised to learn that Franke for years handed out hundreds of McDonald's coupons to homeless people he passed while he walked to his Loop law office at Christmastime.

"He never lavished anything on himself," O'Keefe said. "I never saw Al eat anything but a bowl of soup for lunch, if even that. He was and is an example to us all."

He is survived by his wife, Rita; sons Terry, Greg and Alan; daughter Barbara Bartlett; and seven grandchildren.

A memorial visitation will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday at Holy Cross Church in Deerfield, with a Mass to be said at 1 p.m.

Chris Dettro can be reached at (217) 788-1510 or chris.dettro@sj-r.com.

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