Obama nominates Chicago lawyer for federal bench
ASSOCIATED PRESS May 21, 2012 4:52PM
President Barack Obama has nominated a partner in a Chicago law firm to fill a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Obama nominated Thomas M. Durkin of Mayer Brown LLP to the vacant seat on Monday. The president said Durkin would be a “distinguished public servant.”
Durkin handles commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense at the firm. He is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois. Durkin is a graduate of the DePaul University College of Law and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Durkin has the support of both Illinois senators, Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk.
