据美国民主党前参议员、密尔沃基雄鹿队老板赫伯·科尔的非营利组织赫伯·科尔慈善基金会称，他已经去世，享年88岁。
科尔的基金会周三宣布，科尔在短暂患病后去世。
科尔在威斯康星州出生和长大，人们将记住他是该州的一个受欢迎的人物，他在1985年购买了密尔沃基雄鹿篮球队，当时该队面临被出售和搬到另一个城市的风险。
他向球迷承诺，球队永远不会离开威斯康星州，并在出售球队时兑现了承诺，捐赠了1亿美元，帮助为社区建造一个新的竞技场。
1988年，在宣布参议员威廉·普罗克斯迈尔退休后，科尔决定竞选参议员，击败了共和党候选人，当时的州参议员苏珊·恩格莱特。
他在1994年、2000年和2006年赢得连任，任职24年。
科尔的父母是从波兰和俄罗斯移民到密尔沃基的，他的讣告中写道，科尔“从未认为他一生的好运是理所当然的”。
1927年，科尔出生前几年，他的父亲在他们家公寓的地下开了一家街角商店。近20年后的1945年，科尔11岁时，为他家的第一家超市剪彩。1962年，这个家族开设了第一家美国柯尔百货公司百货商店。
赫伯于1970年成为美国柯尔百货公司公司的总裁，该公司拥有50家超市和多家百货商店。
他把自己的成功归功于在父亲手下工作。
“他允许我犯错误，”科尔说。“我做了很多，但每次，我父亲都会问:‘你从中学到了什么?你会再犯同样的错误吗?从错误中学习是冒险和成功的重要部分。"
科尔热爱他的工作，他走遍了整个州，逛商店，给杂货装袋，还亲自进行了许多工作面试。从面包店到肉类部，再到收银台，他都强调要和每一份工作的员工交谈。他几乎知道每个员工的名字，通常还知道他们家庭的一些情况。
“像对待家人一样对待他的员工是赫伯美国柯尔百货公司人寿的标志之一，”他的基金会在他的讣告中说。
导致美国柯尔百货公司决定竞选参议员的政治参与是有限的。从1975年到1977年，他一直是威斯康星州民主党的主席，但从未担任过公职。
当对手指责科尔试图购买他的参议员席位时，科尔打出了这样的口号:“除了你，没有人是参议员。”
他以一句著名的话开始了他的竞选:“重要的是，当竞选结束时，除了威斯康辛人民，我不欠任何人。”
科尔在1988年赢得了一场艰苦的民主党初选和大选，并在24年中没有受到严重挑战的情况下保住了席位。
当科尔在2012年宣布他不会寻求第五个任期时，巴拉克·奥巴马总统说，“赫伯作为一个家族企业的长期负责人的宝贵观点使他成为工人家庭、小企业主和老年人的坚定声音。”
多年来，科尔进行了大量捐赠，包括向威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校科尔中心体育馆捐赠2500万美元，这是该校历史上最大的一笔捐赠。
赫伯·科尔教育基金会成立于1990年，已经为威斯康星州的学生、教师和学校提供了超过3400万美元的助学金和奖学金。
Herb Kohl, former US senator and Bucks owner, dies at age 88
Former Democratic U.S. Senator and Milwaukee Bucks owner Herb Kohl has died at age 88, according to Herb Kohl Philanthropies, his nonprofit organization.
Kohl passed following a brief illness, his foundation announced on Wednesday.
Born and raised in Wisconsin, Kohl will be remembered as a popular figure in the state, purchasing the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team in 1985 when it was at risk of being sold and moved to another city.
He made a promise to the fans that the team would never leave Wisconsin and fulfilled that promise when it came time to sell the team, donating $100 million to help build a new arena for the community.
In 1988, Kohl decided to run for the Senate following the announcement that Sen. William Proxmire was retiring, defeating Republican candidate, then-state Sen. Susan Engeleiter.
He won reelection in 1994, 2000 and 2006, serving 24 years.
Born to parents who immigrated to Milwaukee from Poland and Russia, Kohl “never took the good fortune of his life for granted,” his obituary said.
His dad opened a corner market store in 1927 beneath their family apartment years before Kohl was born. Nearly 20 years later, in 1945, when Kohl was 11, he cut the ribbon at his family’s first supermarket. In 1962, the family opened the first Kohl’s department store.
Herb became president of Kohl’s Corporation in 1970, which had 50 supermarkets and multiple department stores.
He credited much of his success to working under his father.
“He gave me permission to make mistakes," Kohl said. "I made a lot of them but each time, my father would just ask: ‘What did you learn from this? Are you going to make the same mistake again?’ Learning from mistakes was an important part of taking risks and being successful.”
Kohl loved his job and traveled the state, visiting stores, bagging groceries and conducting many job interviews himself. He made it a point to talk to employees in every job -- from the bakery to the meat department to the checkout aisle. He knew virtually every employee by their first names and usually also something about their families.
"Treating his employees like family was one of the hallmarks of Herb Kohl’s life," his foundation said in his obit.
Kohl’s political involvement leading up to his decision to run for Senate had been limited. He had been chairman of Wisconsin’s Democratic Party from 1975 to 1977, but never held office.
When opponents accused him of trying to buy his Senate seat, Kohl ran on the slogan, "Nobody's Senator but Yours."
He famously kicked off his campaign by saying, "The important thing is that when the campaign is over, I will owe nothing to anybody but the people of Wisconsin.”
Kohl won a hard-fought Democratic primary and general election in 1988 and held onto the seat without a serious challenge for 24 years.
When Kohl announced in 2012 that he would not seek a fifth term, President Barack Obama said, “Herb’s invaluable perspective as the long-time head of a family-owned business made him an unwavering voice for working families, small business owners, and seniors.”
Over the years, Kohl made substantial donations, including $25 million to the Kohl Center Arena at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which was then the largest single donation in the school’s history.
The Herb Kohl Educational Foundation, founded in 1990, has provided more than $34 million in grants and scholarships to Wisconsin students, teachers and schools.
