The Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement (IPCE) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) invites you to attend an upcoming event with guest speaker Emil Jones, Jr., Distinguished Public Servant. Jones’s lecture, “Leadership and Civic Engagement: Reflections on 40 years of Public Service” is the fall installment of IPCE’s Civic Engagement & Democracy Lecture Series.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Reception to follow)
University of Illinois at Chicago
Student Center East, Room 302
750 S. Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60607
Emil Jones, Jr. is President and CEO of strategic International Group, a business and political consulting firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to forming this company in 2009, he served as a member of the Illinois General Assembly for 36 years, retiring from that august body as President of the Senate in January 2009. As an independent-minded and progressive legislator, Jones was and continues to be a strong proponent of social justice and fair and adequate funding of public education. As a champion for children, the elderly, and disadvantaged and working class citizens of the state, he has earned a solid reputation for fairness and equitable treatment for all.
In October 2011, Governor Pat Quinn named Jones Chairman of the Illinois Sports Facility Authority. As Board Chairman, he is responsible for directing the operations and business affairs of Chicago’s White Sox Park. Jones also continues to lend his expertise to his community by serving on a number of Corporate and Non-profit Boards.
Throughout his career, Jones mentored many politicians, but most notably President Barack Obama and State Senator Emil Jones, III, Jones’s son. During a recent visit to Chicago, President Barack Obama said it was the strong support he received from Jones that enabled to be elected to the United States Senate. The President has often referred to Jones as his “political godfather.” Senator Jones, III is serving his second term in the Illinois General Assembly, carrying on the legacy of his father as a committed legislator.
Emil Jones, Jr. is a life-long resident of Chicago’s South Side, a member of the Holy Name of Mary Church, the Knights of St. Peter Claver, the Shriners, the Druids, the Original Forty Club, the Chicago Assembly and is a 33rd Degree Mason. He graduated from Loop Junior College, matriculated at Roosevelt University, later graduating from Chicago State University. He was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society of Harold Washington College, and received Doctorates of Humane Letters from both Roosevelt University and Chicago State University.
