Nomination Of Gary Scott Feinerman

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, first, I wish to thank the Senator from Montana for allowing me to make some brief remarks, and then I will turn to him.

I join my colleague, Senator Burris, in asking my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote in just a few moments on the nomination of Gary Feinerman to be U.S. district court judge for the Northern District of Illinois.

Gary Feinerman is one of the brightest lights in the Chicago legal community. He is a partner at one of Chicago's oldest and largest law firms, Sidley Austin, where he specializes in litigation and appellate work. Before that, he served as Illinois' solicitor general and represented our State in many very valuable and important appeals. He won five ``Best Brief'' awards from the National Association of Attorneys General, and he has argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, as well as the Illinois Supreme Court. Earlier in his career, Mr. Feinerman worked at the Chicago law firm of Mayer Brown and in the Justice Department's Office of Policy Development. He served as law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and for Seventh Circuit Judge Joel Flaum. He is a leader in the Chicago legal community. He is the president of the Appellate Lawyers Association of our State and serves on Chicago's Constitutional Rights Foundation and the Midwest chapter of the Anti-Defamation League. He has also had a very active pro bono practice, which speaks well of his commitment as a professional.

Mr. Feinerman's academic record is also impressive. He graduated from Yale and Stanford Law School, where he finished second in his class. Not surprisingly, he received the highest possible rating of ``well-qualified'' from the American Bar Association for this commitment.

We currently have six--six--vacancies in the Northern District of Illinois. We need to fill them quickly so that we don't slow down the process of justice. I hope the Senate will confirm Gary Feinerman today and move very quickly to Justice Sharon Coleman, who is also on the calendar. Mr. Feinerman will be an excellent judge, and Judge Coleman will join him, with the blessing of the Senate, to start to fill these important vacancies.

Madam President, I yield the floor and again thank my colleague from Montana.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source