Abner Mikva, a five-term congressman for Illinois who also served in all three branches of the federal government, was one of 19 Americans awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

"I'm just overwhelmed by the award," Mikva said when reached by phone Monday, the day the White House announced the winners. "It's the highest award that a civilian can imagine getting. I'm very awed by the company I'm in. I'm very awed by the former judges who have received it people like John Paul Stevens and Patricia Wald, Judge (Henry) Friendly. These are great names in the law."

This year's winners also include author Isabel Allende; journalist Tom Brokaw; musician Stevie Wonder; golfer Charles Sifford; physicist, materials scientist and electrical engineer Mildred Dresselhaus; and actress Meryl Streep. The awards will be presented at the White House on Nov. 24.

Mikva, 88, was elected in 1956 to the first of five consecutive terms in the Illinois General Assembly, according to his biography on the website for the Mikva Challenge, a civic and leadership organization for youths he helped found in 1997 with his wife, Zoe.

Abner Mikva said the highlight of his career was his time in Congress, where he was first elected in 1968 and served five terms that included stints on the Judiciary Committee and the Ways and Means Committee, according to the Mikva Challenge website.

"When I was in Congress, it was fun. It was productive. I was young. I did a lot of things while I was in Congress I feel proud of," Mikva said.

President Jimmy Carter appointed Mikva to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, according to his site, where he served for 15 years, the last four as chief judge.

"I had a lot of fun in the court," Mikva said."I have had a lot of fun in my life."

After serving as White House counsel for President Bill Clinton, Mikva said, he returned to Chicago, where he taught at the University of Chicago for several years and worked as senior director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic.

A native of Milwaukee, Mikva has called Chicago home ever since he attended law school at the U. of C., where his wife earned a master's degree, he said. The couple raised three daughters here, Mary Mikva, a judge; Laurie Mikva, a commissioner on the Illinois Court of Claims; and Rachel Mikva, a rabbi and professor at the Chicago Theological Seminary.

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Ex-Illinois congressman to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom