A. Daniel Feldman, 86, a litigator in Chicago for 40 years, passed away in Davis, CA, July 4th. A 1955 graduate of the Univ. of Chicago Law School, he clerked for Judge Walter Pope in the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco and Missoula, MT, and served in the Army's Courts division in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, before being hired by Isham, Lincoln & Beale in 1958. There he relished working in First Amendment law, advising and defending the Sun-Times and the Daily News. He previewed columns by Mike Royko, Roger Simon, Bob Greene and others, who sometimes called late in the night not because of legal perils but because they thought he was a discerning reader. When sued, he represented them successfully against all comers, once defending Evans & Novak in a case that won over Judge Robert Bork and then was allowed to stand by the US Supreme Court. He was the legal backbone behind both papers' enterprising investigative reporting, most notably the legendary Mirage tavern on N. Wells St., concurring with his friends at the Better Government Association that it was not entrapment to invite a city inspector to simply do his job. He also licensed nuclear power plants for Commonwealth Edison. After the implosion of Isham (and Reuben & Proctor) in 1988, he finished his career at Schwartz & Cooper. In retirement, he enjoyed classes at NU Continuing Adult Education and learning Talmud with NU Hillel exec director Rabbi Michael Balinsky. Born in South Bend, IN, he attended Riley High School there and then was an undergraduate at Robert Maynard Hutchins' Univ. of Chicago. He was the youngest of four children to Ben & Fannie Feldman, with a sister Bernice, and two brothers, Ted and Mel, all of whom predeceased him. An avid Cubs fan since the World Series of 1945, he lived to see the Cubs return and win a Series, a joy still outmatched by the marriages of his grandchildren and another grandchild's graduation from MIT. In addition to his wife, Naomi (Bellinson Brodkey), he is survived by four children from his first marriage, to Jessica (Tenofsky): Stephanie (and Andy Orrock) of Dallas, TX; Susan (and Alan Fitzthum), of Olympia, WA; Yitzchok (and Ellen Feldman) of Palo Alto, CA; and Valerie (and Jay Wisham) of Sacramento, CA; he and Naomi share 20 grandchildren, of whom six are married, and ten great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Daniel Feldman can go to the Univ. of Chicago Law School, or the charity of one's choice. Interment: Friday, July 6, 12:30 pm at Home of Peace Cemetery, Sacramento, CA.
07/06/2018 JFC
