The legal and social justice community lost one of its greatest champions in May 2025 with the passing of Alexander Polikoff (1927-2025).
Alex served as Executive Director of Impact for Equity, then known as BPI (Business and Professional People for the Public Interest), from its earliest days in 1970 until he stepped down in 1999. Alex continued to serve as the organization’s Director of Housing until just a few years ago, when he retired to spend time with his family in New Hampshire. Despite the distance, Alex continued to serve as a mentor, advisor, and passionate advocate for the leadership of Impact for Equity to the very end.
Alex was born and raised in Chicago. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he also served as editor-in-chief of the Law Review. The cornerstone of Alex’s career was the landmark civil rights case, Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority. His role as lead attorney became the foundation for Impact for Equity’s housing work – work that continues to this day – and became integral to the dismantling of Chicago’s long and storied history of segregated housing.
Alex also served as a director and General Counsel of the Illinois Division of the American Civil Liberties Union and was a national ACLU board member. He authored a number of articles and book chapters on housing, civil liberties, and urban affairs. His published books include Housing the Poor: The Case for Heroism (1977), Waiting for Gautreaux: A Story of Segregation, Housing, and the Black Ghetto (2006), and The Path Still Open: A Greater Chance for Peace Than Ever Before (2009). In 2006 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of The American Lawyer magazine.
Alex was married to author Barbara Garland Polikoff until her death in 2022. They had three children, (Deborah) Eve Kodiak, Daniel Polikoff, and the late Joan Myra Polikoff; and five grandchildren, Allason Leitz, Milo Keller, Damiel Faxon, Rowan Keller, and Hyden Polikoff.
Alex’s legacy lives on in so many ways – through the books he published, through legal victories he achieved, and through Impact for Equity’s Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellowship program, stewarding future generations of legal advocates who share his passion for a more just and equitable society. Alex lived a life in service to others, and he will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of calling him a friend, mentor and guide.
The Polikoff family has set up a tribute page for friends and colleagues to share their remembrances of Alex at https://www.forevermissed.com/alexander-polikoff/about.
