Sen. Dick Durbin, Jesse White among mourners at funeral for Herb Franks, prominent McHenry County attorney

Mavens of the Illinois Democrat Party joined lawyers, rabbis and fishing buddies to pay their respects to Herbert Hoover “Herb” Franks as he was laid to rest Friday.

Franks, 89, of Marengo, died Tuesday after a brief battle with brain cancer.

At his funeral, the prominent attorney and law firm founder was remembered for his dedication to “diversity, equity and inclusion, before it was a thing,” Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein said after the service at Congregation Kneseth Israel in Elgin.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and former longtime Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White were among those in attendance. Both eulogized Franks, as did his sons David, Jack and Eli Franks; sister Helen Lindow; and others.

White joined Franks and others for Canadian fishing trips for 25 years, and the two fished together on Lake Michigan just three months ago.

“I have lost a friend, and this world of ours has lost a wonderful human being,” White said.

Durbin flew in from Washington, D.C., on Thursday night to be at the service. His security team, as well as members of the Elgin Police Department, were on hand.

Durbin met Franks “fresh out of law school,” when he worked in U.S. Sen. Paul Simon’s office, Durbin said.

Later, when Durbin first ran for Congress, the Franks family held a Bagels in the Barn fundraiser for him, Durbin said. Similar events followed over the years.

“You should be so lucky to have a friend like that. Herb got everything out of every day and put it back in every day,” Durbin said.

David Franks spoke about things people may not have known about his father, such as when he started banks in Marengo and Wonder Lake.

His father didn’t see color, gender or religion – he only saw people, David Franks said.

“He saw humanity,” he said.

He also knew the pain of rejection, as his own father, Carl Franks, was turned down for a loan “because he was Jewish,” David Franks said.

By starting a bank, Herb Franks ensured that Latinos would receive loans and that women would be hired for jobs in positions higher than a teller or loan officer, David Franks said.

“I became more and more impressed as I listened” to those who spoke, Frisch Klein said. “He helped Hispanics get loans when other people wouldn’t. A mosque opened in McHenry County, and [he] made sure the zoning was approved.”

Herb Franks often referred to himself as a “Jewish pig farmer from Marengo” who also was serious about his faith, said his son Jack Franks, a former lawmaker.

That dedication to his religion was “one reason why there are so many rabbis here,” Jack Franks said.

Jack Franks said he did not know Durbin would be at the funeral.

“Sen. Durbin surprised me by showing up,” Jack Franks wrote in a text to the Northwest Herald. “We had spoken a few times in the last few weeks, but I did not know he was coming. It was very, very kind of him. He called my dad in the last month, and they had a really good conversation.”

After the funeral, about 100 people gathered to pay respects at the burial in McHenry County Jewish Cemetery in Woodstock.

A recording of the service can be found at chicagojewishfunerals.com.