“I had the great pleasure of meeting Illinois Supreme Court Justice Moses W. Harrison II — or “Mose,” as he liked to be called — about the time he declared his candidacy for the Illinois Supreme Court in 1987. We became dear friends over the years.  Named after his paternal grandfather, Justice Harrison was highly respected and the first Italian American to serve on the state’s high court. the Court, followed 2 by the esteemed Justice Bob Thomas (of Notre Dame and Chicago Bears fame).

Justice Harrison was born in Collinsville, a city in far southern Illinois, on March 30, 1932. He was the grandson of a physician and the son of dentist Clarence Harrison and nurse Loretta O’Hara Harrison (maiden name Darfado). He was extremely proud of his Italian ancestry and wore his Italian ethnicity on his sleeve.