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5/15/05 Illinois Senator to Speak at Graduation

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's second highest ranking Democrat, will address graduates, parents, and guests at the Northwestern University School of Law graduation convocation Sunday, May 15.

In December 2004, Democratic senators elected Durbin as assistant minority leader, also known as the Democratic Whip, which marks only the fifth time in history that an Illinois senator has served as a Senate leader.

The ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St.

Henry S. Bienen, president, Northwestern University, and David E. Van Zandt, dean of the School of Law, also will deliver remarks. David Sajous (JD '03) will speak on behalf of alumni, and Steven McFarlane (JD '05) and Yi Lu (LLM '05) will speak for the graduating class.

Alex Amezcua, president, Student Bar Association (JD '05) will present student-voted awards for excellence in teaching. Award recipients include Professor Jim Speta (Robert Childres Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence); Professor Martin Redish (outstanding first-year course professors); Professor Kimberly Yuracko (outstanding professor of a small class); and Howard Nagelberg, senior partner, Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum Perlman & Nagelberg (outstanding adjunct professor). The Wigmore Key also will be presented to the graduating student who has done the most to help preserve the traditions of the School of Law.

The class of 2005 includes 253 candidates for JD degrees and 17 candidates for joint JD-MBA degrees from the School of Law and the Kellogg School of Management. Northwestern is the only law school that offers a three-year JD-MBA in one of the largest and best integrated law and business programs in the country.

There also are 82 candidates for LLM degrees; 19 candidates for the LLM degree and certificate in business administration from Kellogg; and 29 candidates for LLM degrees in taxation. Three students will be candidates for the joint master of science in journalism and master of studies in law degrees from the School of Law and the Medill School of Journalism. In addition, 26 students graduated in March from the Executive LLM Program in Seoul, Korea.

A Democrat from Springfield, Durbin is also the first Illinois senator to serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee in more than a quarter of a century. He is the state's senior senator and convenor of the bipartisan Illinois delegation.

Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and re-elected in 2002, Durbin fills the seat left vacant by the retirement of his long-time friend and mentor, Sen. Paul Simon. He previously served as a U.S. House Representative for the 20th Congressional District from 1983 to 1997.

In 2001, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) appointed Durbin to the Senate's leadership team as Assistant Democratic Floor Leader. In 2000, Durbin served as co-chairman of the Democratic Platform Committee and also co-chaired the Atlantic Conference sponsored by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.

During his tenure, Durbin has been at the forefront of issues related to health care, consumer protection, gun control, and rights for farmers. He is a founding member of the Senate Global AIDS Caucus, and his work to protect children from the harm caused by tobacco earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Lung Association.

Durbin holds a JD from Georgetown University. He and his wife, Loretta, have three children and reside in Springfield.

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