The U.S. House and Senate have both passed a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay to designate a site adjacent to the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse as the “Clyde S. Cahill Memorial Park.” The bill only awaits President Bush’s signature to become law. “It makes me proud to be able to help honor my friend, my mentor and a much admired civil rights pioneer,” Clay said. The Clyde S. Cahill Memorial Park will be bounded by South 10th Street, Clark Avenue, South 9th Street and Walnut Street.
Judge Cahill, a Vashon and SLU grad, served on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for more than two decades. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, Judge Cahill was the first African American to serve on the federal’s 8th Circuit Court bench. He also served as executive director and general counsel for the Legal Aid Society of St. Louis, where he played a pivotal role in expanding legal aid services throughout Eastern Missouri.