1970s US Radical and Convicted Murderer Fights To Retain Teaching Position

James Kilgore
(Image: chicagoreporter.com)

America circa 1970 incubated so-called "radical" groups that advocated a hostile stance toward established government and business. Among them was a small, violent group called the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). Their most prominent caper was Patty Hearst's kidnapping and alleged brainwashing. Among the SLA's members was one James Kilgore.

According to today's online edition of the Chicago Tribune, Kilgore is in the midst of an academic hearing at the University of Illinois' Champaign-Urbana campus. It will be interesting to learn whether Kilgore, a convicted felon (second degree murder), will sway the university panel to just say yes to his desire to remain on the U's teaching staff. Ironically, a key trustee who will determine Kilgore's employment plea, Christopher Kennedy, is related to the late Bobby Kennedy, whose assassin Kilgore once publicly praised. (By the way, the Trib goes into some detail about Kilgore's curious life on the international lam, his American criminal record, and his strong teaching performance.)