Lincolnwood Native Merrick Garland Confirmed As Attorney General

SKOKIE, IL — Forty years after he was voted the most intelligent boy at Niles West High School, Lincolnwood native Merrick Garland was confirmed by the U.S. Senate Wednesday as the 86th attorney general of the United States.

Garland, 68, was nominated as the nation's top cop by President Joe Biden, five years after former President Barack Obama nominated him for the U.S. Supreme Court. He succeeds former Attorney General Bill Barr, who resigned in December after refuting unsubstantiated claims by former President Donald Trump that the November 2020 election had been stolen by Biden.

The D.C. Circuit appellate judge was the valedictorian of the class of 1970 at Niles West High School. He went on to graduate Harvard Law School and later worked as a federal prosecutor, supervising the prosecution of Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber.

Prior to becoming a federal judge in 1997, Garland held senior positions at the Justice Department, including as a supervisor in the prosecution and execution of Timothy McVeigh over the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

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Garland addressed the Niles West High School graduating class at its 2016 commencement, according to a District 219 news release. The nation's future top cop later returned to Niles Township in September of 2018 to deliver the keynote address at Lincoln Hall Middle School during a kickoff event for the 75th anniversary of Lincolnwood School District 74. Garland, a 1966 graduate of the school, spoke about how his education in the district set a foundation for his later success.

"The Lincolnwood schools gave me the preparation I needed to succeed in high school," Garland said at the time. "I am proud of the education I received and I am proud of my community. It was not just a great education. It was how it reinforced my sense of community."

The Associated Press contributed reporting.