CHICAGO – Barnes & Thornburg LLP announced today that U.S. Congress’ Assistant Democratic Leader, the Honorable Jim Clyburn, will deliver the keynote address at the firm’s Fourth Annual Celebration of Diversity dinner on Thursday, Aug. 22, at the Palmer House Hilton.
Clyburn has served as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 6th congressional district since 1993, and in January 2011 became the assistant Democratic Party leader. He was previously House Majority Whip, serving in that position from 2007 to 2011.
“We’re honored that Congressman Clyburn is joining us as the keynote speaker for our Fourth Annual Celebration of Diversity event,” said Richard Boykin, partner in the Chicago and Washington, D.C. offices of Barnes & Thornburg, and a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee. “As a national leader, Mr. Clyburn has worked to respond to the needs of America’s diverse communities, and not only does he epitomize the qualities that should be reflected among our nation’s business and political leaders, he also represents what this important event is all about.”
The fourth annual dinner and ceremony will recognize Chicago businesses and legal leaders who exhibit personal and professional commitment to diversity, justice and civil rights, including: Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke; Anne Pramaggiore, chief executive officer of Commonwealth Edison; and John Rogers, founder of Ariel Investments LLC.
“In today’s workforce, diversity management is a time-sensitive business imperative that is instrumental in cultivating strategic business growth” added Boykin. “There are champions out there in the Chicago business community that are doing incredible things to enhance diversity within the Chicago community, and the noted individuals we’re honoring during Barnes & Thornburg’s Fourth Annual Celebration of Diversity event are an example of that.”
Barnes & Thornburg’s Fourth Annual Celebration of Diversity will also unite over 150 leaders in the legal and business communities including Cook County judges, businessmen and women from a variety of corporations and non-profit organizations.
“We are proud to be hosting this significant event for the fourth year in a row,” said Barnes & Thornburg managing partner Alan A. Levin. “As we continue to do our part as a firm to promote diversity both in and outside of the workplace, this event reaffirms our commitment to engage the community throughout our programs, partnerships, sponsorships and volunteerism.”
“Barnes & Thornburg is deeply committed to the practice of promoting a diverse workforce, and we hope this fourth annual event inspires the Chicago business community to continue to make strides in their own commitment to diversity,” added Mark Rust, managing partner of the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg.
Sponsors of Barnes & Thornburg’s Fourth Annual Celebration of Diversity event include: BNY Mellon, Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind, Crown Imports LLC, Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, Education Management Corp., and Illinois Institute of Art.
Biography of James Clyburn, United States House of Representatives
President Barack Obama has said Jim Clyburn is, "One of a handful of people who, when they speak, the entire Congress listens." As Assistant Democratic Leader in the 113th Congress, the number three Democrat in the House, James E. Clyburn is the leadership liaison to the Appropriations Committee and one of the Democratic Caucus' primary liaisons to the White House. Working with the internal caucuses, he plays a prominent role in messaging and outreach.
Prior to serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Clyburn was appointed as the first minority advisor under the leadership of Governor John C. West in 1971. Following the aftermath of the Orangeburg massacre of 1974, when South Caroline State students, who were protesting against segregation, were killed by police, Governor West appointed Clyburn as the state's human affairs commissioner, which he served until his congressional appointment in 1992.
During his ten years with the U.S. House of representatives, Clyburn was elected as Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1999. His reputation for bipartisanship and strong leadership propelled his standing, and he was elected as the House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair in 2002. In 2005, he was unanimously appointed as Chair of the Democratic Caucus. In 2006, when Democrats regained the House majority, he was elevated to House Majority Whip.
As a national leader he has worked to respond to the needs of America's diverse communities. He championed rural communities supporting the development of regional water projects, community health centers, and broadband connections. He has supported higher education by leading the charge for increased Pell grants; investing millions in science and math programs and historic preservation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
He has encouraged economic development by securing funding for Empowerment Zones; investing in green technology development such as nuclear, wind, hydrogen and biofuels; and directing 10 percent of Recovery Act funding to communities 20 percent under the poverty level for the past 30 years. Clyburn was instrumental in advancing into law measures to resolve historic discrimination issues, significantly reducing the statutory disparity in cocaine sentencing and compensating African and Native American farmers who suffered racial discrimination under the USDA loan program.
Click here for more information on Congressman James Clyburn
Biographies of the Honorees
Anne Burke
Anne M. Burke is the Illinois Supreme Court Justice for the First Judicial District (Cook County, Illinois). Burke was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1995 and elected to the Appellate Court in 1996. She was elected to a full 10-year term in November or 2008.
Prior to her appointment to the Illinois Supreme Court, Burke served as a judge of the Illinois Court of Claims, the first woman to serve in this capacity, from 1987-1994. In April 1994, she was appointed special counsel to the Governor for Child Welfare Services.
A lifelong Chicago resident, Burke graduated from DePaul University in 1976 and earned a Bachelor’s degree in education. She received a J.D. degree from IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1983 and was certified for the Trial Bar, Federal District Court in 1987.
Justice Burke, and her husband, Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke, are the parents of five children: Jennifer, Edward, Sarah and the late Emmett, and Travis, as well as five grandchildren.
Anne Pramaggiore
Anne R. Pramaggiore is president and CEO of ComEd, which has 5,700 employees. ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation. Pramaggiore was promoted to her current position in February 2012. She is the first female to hold the post of president and CEO at the electric utility.
Pramaggiore joined ComEd in 1998 to work on the company’s transition to an open and competitive energy market under the Illinois Consumer Choice Law of 1997. She began with the ComEd legal team before moving into regulatory affairs and working on significant components of the Consumer Choice Law.
Prior to her appointment as president and CEO of ComEd, Pramaggiore served as president and chief operating officer (COO) of ComEd, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company.
Before being named president and COO, Pramaggiore managed Customer Operations and External Affairs. Additional responsibilities included the administration of environmental stewardship activities designed to promote customer satisfaction.
Pramaggiore serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Babcock & Wilcox Company and Motorola Solutions and also the boards of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Botanic Garden, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Chicago Urban League, DePaul University, Lincoln Park Zoo and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
She is a 1989 graduate of DePaul University School of Law and served as editor-in-chief of the school’s Law Review. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Theater from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
John W. Rogers, Jr., is the Founder, Chairman & CEO, of Ariel Investments, LLC. In 1983, Rogers founded Ariel Investments to focus on undervalued small and medium-sized companies. Patience served as the cornerstone of a disciplined approach that still drives the firm today. Early in his career, Roger’s investment expertise brought him to the forefront of media attention, including being selected as Co-Mutual Fund Manager of the Year by Sylvia Porter’s Personal Finance magazine as well as an All-Star Mutual Fund Manager by USA Today.
Beyond Ariel, Rogers serves as a board member of Exelon Corporation and McDonald’s Corporation. He is a trustee of the University of Chicago, where he also chairs the board of the University of Chicago Laboratory School and a director of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. In 2008, he was awarded Princeton University’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award, presented each year to the alumnus whose career embodies a commitment to national service. Following the election of President Barack Obama, John served as co-chair for the Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009.
John received an AB in economics from Princeton University in 1980.
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