Easy on Kerner

The man standing before Federal Judge Robert L. Taylor was impeccably groomed and held himself ramrod stiff. In a loud and clear voice, Otto Kerner last week vowed before a packed courtroom in Chicago that he would "continue to challenge the erroneous verdict rendered against me." With that, Judge Taylor sentenced Kerner, 64, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge and twice Governor of Illinois, and Co-Defendant Theodore Isaacs to three years in prison and $50,000 in fines. In February, a jury had found both guilty of taking part in a dubious race-track stock deal in which Kerner, while Governor, netted nearly $145,000 in profit.

The prosecutor, U.S. Attorney James Thompson, who had recommended "substantial" terms for both men, said that he thought Taylor had acted out of "compassion," since Kerner could have received up to 58 years in prison, and Isaacs 48. As matters stand, it is possible that neither man may ever serve a day in jail. They were sentenced under a provision that makes them both eligible for immediate parole.

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