The Federalist and ACS Societies Bring Back Chicago-Kent Alum, Congressman Peter J. Roskam
By Chicago-Kent ACS Board Member Nikki Little

Peter Roskam is a lone lawyer in a family of medical professionals, but that doesn’t bother him.  When the barrage of lawyer jokes start during the holidays, he pointedly reminds his family that, “When your profession was bleeding people with leeches, mine was writing the Constitution.”  He said that quiets them down… for about ten minutes.

Congressman Roskam is a proud graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law, class of 1989.  However, Roskam was not always so sure that the road to law school was the right one.  After his first year of law school, Roskam felt he had made a wrong turn, and took a hiatus to teach in history and government at a high school in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  After a year there, he moved on to Washington D.C., where he worked for the then freshman Senator Tom Delay, and later for his predecessor, Congressman Henry Hyde.  It was in Washington D.C. that Roskam found himself facing unfamiliar territory and issues that he says he could have handled had he stayed in law school.  Realizing that his goal of successfully serving the public necessitated it, Roskam ventured back down the road to law school, and found his way back Chicago-Kent. 

Of all his experiences at Chicago-Kent, the one that has stayed with Roskam is his time spent in the trial advocacy program.  (Present at the talk was one of Roskam’s former trial ad partners, of his own local fame from his years as an ABC 7 news anchor and reporter, Joel Daly.)  Roskam says the program gave him the very powerful tool of truly thinking like a lawyer – the value of arguing in the alternative and understanding how such arguments are structured.  Roskam attributes these skills as allowing him to take on and advocate an argument, while still holding it at enough of a distance so that it does not become too personal, allowing him to be the most effective advocate possible for those he represents. 

Congressman Roskam’s experiences in the public life since leaving Chicago-Kent have been many.  He has served as Executive Director of Education Assistance, a non-profit organization that received President Reagan’s Volunteer Action Award for outstanding service to the community.  In 1993, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives where he served for six years.  Following his time in the House, Roskam was appointed to the Illinois Senate where he served as the Republican Whip and Floor Leader.  Roskam was elected the U.S. Representative for the Sixth District of Illinois in November of 2006.

Since starting his service on Capitol Hill, Congressman Roskam said the biggest change has been adjusting to the scope of activities that happens in his presence.  In the Illinois chambers, Roskam enjoyed the interaction and how everything occurred right in front of him.  Yet, in Congress, he has found the opposite – everything happens in committees or subcommittees; advocates get a mere three minutes when presenting their issue, which is then followed by hours of debates by each side.  But rather than vote on it at the close of debates, the issue is put aside while the next issue is presented, and on goes the process until 8:30pm when votes are taken on all issues.  Roskam finds this set-up frustrating at times, but he is adjusting to the process.

Despite this, Roskam remains cynicism-free about the political process.  He believes in our governmental structure and the liberties that it affords us.  He contends that in a period of fifteen to twenty days, any U.S. citizen with “some gumption” can get speak with their Congress member about issues on their mind, and he encourages people to do so.  It is this meaningful interaction with the people he represents that keeps Roskam optimistic and reminds him of why he started down this road in the first place.

The Federalist Society and ACS thank everyone who attended Congressman Roskam’s talk.