Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing On Circuit & District Court Nominations
Today’s nominations hearing features two nominees for Illinois: Jeffrey Cummings and LaShonda Hunt, to be United States District Judges for the Northern District of Illinois
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Michael Delaney, to be United States Circuit Judge for the First Circuit; Jeffrey Cummings, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois; Marian F. Gaston, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California; Wesley L. Hsu, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California; LaShonda A. Hunt, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois; and Mónica Ramírez Almadani, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California.
Key Durbin quotes on Judge Cummings and Judge Hunt:
“Judge Jeffrey Cummings, [nominated] to the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He received a B.A. from Michigan State University and a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law [and] clerked for Judge Ann Claire Williams when she served on the Northern District of Illinois.”
“Judge Cummings then entered private practice in Chicago, where he gained experience in employment law, housing discrimination, and False Claims Act litigation. He served as both an Administrative Hearing Officer for the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations and as a Hearing Officer for the Chicago Police Board.”
“In 2019, the judges of the Northern District of Illinois selected him to serve as a magistrate [judge]. In his time on the bench, he has displayed an evenhanded judicial temperament and a dedication to the rule of law. He has an impressive breadth of experience in federal court, as a litigator and a magistrate judge. Judge Cummings, welcome to you and your family.”
“I am also pleased to introduce Judge LaShonda Hunt, nominated to the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Born in Mississippi, [she] grew up on the South Side of Chicago. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.”
“After starting her legal career as a Staff Attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, she clerked for the late Judge Bill Hibbler on the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Hunt then worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, litigating cases involving a range of issues, from the Freedom of Information Act to employment discrimination. Following her time as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, she worked for the State of Illinois in the Department of Corrections and the Department of Central Management Services.”
“In 2017, she was appointed to serve as a Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Since that appointment, she has presided over approximately 22,000 bankruptcy cases and 75 bench trials. Like Judge Cummings, Judge Hunt is highly regarded for her experience in the courtroom—as a litigator and a judge. Judge Hunt, congratulations and welcome to you and your family.”
Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.
In October 2021, Durbin and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that they would begin accepting applications from those interested in serving as a Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois. The Senators were assisted by a screening committee whose task was to review and vet District Court candidates and advise the Senators regarding the candidates’ qualifications and fitness for the position. In December 2021, the Senators sent a letter to the White House recommending seven candidates for President Biden’s consideration for current and future vacancies on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, including Jeffrey Cummings and LaShonda Hunt.
The Illinois nominees’ biographies from the White House are below:
Jeffrey Cummings: Judge Jeffrey Cummings has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 2019. Judge Cummings was previously co-managing partner at Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C., where he worked from 1989 to 2019. Judge Cummings served as a law clerk for Judge Ann Claire Williams on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 1987 to 1989. He received his J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, cum laude, in 1987, and his B.A., with high honors, from Michigan State University in 1984.
LaShonda Hunt: Judge LaShonda A. Hunt has served as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois since 2017. Judge Hunt previously served as General Counsel for the Illinois Department of Central Management Services in 2016 and as Chief Legal Counsel for the Illinois Department of Corrections from 2015 to 2016. Prior to that, she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois from 2003 to 2005 and then again from 2010 to 2015. Judge Hunt was Assistant General Counsel at Exelon Company from 2007 to 2009 and Regulatory Outreach Manager at Com Ed, a subsidiary of Exelon, from 2009 to 2010. She also worked as a schools project director for the Just the Beginning Foundation from 2006 to 2007, a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1998 to 2001, and an associate at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP from 1995 to 1998. Judge Hunt served as a law clerk for Judge William J. Hibbler on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2001 to 2003. She received her J.D. from the University of Michigan in 1995, and her B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1992.
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