[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 8, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E529-E530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         A TRIBUTE TO JAMES YOO

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 8, 2008

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to James 
Yoo, an incredible man who has worked in my district office as a 
constituent advocate for nearly 7 years, and who, sadly for me, will 
soon be leaving.
  I want to first let others of my staff describe what James has meant 
to them and to the constituents of the ninth Congressional District.

       Cathy Hurwit, Chief of Staff: When I think of James, I 
     think of someone who has the strongest, most finely-turned 
     moral compass of anyone I know. It is evidenced in terms of 
     his compassion and understanding of the problems facing our 
     constituents--particularly those caught up in a draconian 
     immigration system. In dealing with constituents, he is 
     always calm, professional and dedicated--but in talking about 
     the unfairness of the system and the indignities that so many 
     faced, his moral outrage is evident. His sense of justice led 
     him to law school to learn the skills and get the degree 
     necessary for him to represent them. But it also is evidenced 
     in the way he deals with his colleagues and everyone around 
     him--modest about his own outstanding accomplishments but 
     always willing to praise the efforts of and look out for 
     others.
       James is a role model--the standard of what a constituent 
     advocate should be. Fun to be around, collegial and 
     thoughtful.
       Leslie Combs, District Director: James is such an integral, 
     essential and special part of our district office, that it 
     truly is hard to imagine the office and team without him. He 
     makes us all laugh daily with his dry sense of humor and his 
     fascination with Malcolm Jamal Warner (Theo on the Cosby 
     Show). He is an extraordinarily generous and compassionate 
     person, both towards his colleagues and the constituents who 
     he has helped. James has helped over 2,600 constituents since 
     he started working for Representative Schakowsky 7 years ago 
     on July 1, 2001. He has helped reunite families that have 
     been separated due to immigration backlogs. He has helped 
     explain the complicated nuances of the immigration process to 
     hundreds of families and to his fellow constituent advocates. 
     He has made sure that immigration applications are processed 
     quickly and that people get their oath ceremonies and green 
     cards. James is extremely intelligent, thoughtful, and warm, 
     and he will be missed. He is going to be an excellent 
     immigration lawyer.
       Taina Rodriguez, Constituent Advocate: James ``Malcolm 
     Jamal Warner'' Yoo James

[[Page E530]]

     is definitely one of a kind. He has an outstanding ability to 
     see the good in a person. He is supportive, caring, kind, 
     honest, strong and hopeful. His views on many issues are a 
     little nutty, but I never said he was perfect. He always 
     tells me the truth, even when I hate to hear it because 
     chances are 9 out of 10 times he's right. He told me once 
     that he hates it when people say ``I can't'', and I find that 
     to be very inspirational.
       James calls our relationship ``love and hate'' 
     relationship, but I see it more of a big brother, pain in the 
     neck type of relationship. (But in a very good way). Who is 
     going to lecture me about school and my study habits, and who 
     is going to lecture me about how I choose my dates! It's very 
     difficult to see myself coming into the office and not having 
     James around. It's going to be a sad day on April 11, 2008. 
     However, I know that he will go on and accomplish great 
     things. Who knows, he might even get to meet Malcolm Jamal 
     Warner!
       Kim Muzeroll, Executive Assistant: James is one of the most 
     selfless and thoughtful people I know. He is smart and he is 
     savvy. He works under the radar but he is immensely 
     effective. He doesn't seek the spotlight and he never wants 
     credit for his accomplishments, but he deserves recognition 
     for his commitment to social justice and his tireless work on 
     behalf of the constituents of the 9th Cong. district, 
     Illinois, the nation and in fact the world.
       Abbey Eusebio: The ninth congressional district has been 
     lucky to have James Yoo as a tireless advocate for almost a 
     decade. He worked with constituents one on one to assist them 
     with immigration matters and provided outreach to different 
     ethnic groups in the district. James was the go-to person for 
     immigration matters and was a constituent advocate that 
     constituents and colleagues could always count on. He set a 
     high standard for his colleagues for substantial and 
     efficient constituent service. He is a great role model and 
     always kept the needs of constituents and the office as a 
     priority.
       As a friend, James is like our big brother. He is a humble 
     man who is down-to-earth and has a great sense of humor. 
     James was a great asset to Team Schakowsky. We will be very 
     sad to see him go but know that he will continue a career of 
     advocacy as an immigration attorney.
       Paola Castano, Constituent Advocate: James is very 
     knowledgeable and a great source of information. I am always 
     impressed about the wealth of knowledge that he has on 
     various subjects. James is the type of person you can talk to 
     about just about anything under the sun. And whenever we 
     would discuss subject matter that we weren't exactly sure of, 
     off to internet we went, and it was Wikipedia once again to 
     the rescue! If it weren't for Wikipedia, we would have never 
     learned the names of the 3 Chipettes (Brittany, Eleanor, and 
     Jeanette), the Chipmunk's female counterparts. If we didn't 
     know that, then where would we be?
       I am most grateful to him for other reasons too. When I 
     started working in this office in December of 2006, it was 
     taking me a bit of time to adjust to all the transitions 
     taking place within the office. However, the most difficult 
     aspect for me, the thing that was holding me back was that I 
     had just come from an unpleasant work experience in my 
     previous law office job, so I wasn't allowing myself to 
     warm up to my new surroundings. However, from the very 
     beginning, it was James who helped me to feel very welcome 
     and tried to make me feel like I was part of the office. I 
     soon came to realize that if he was taking the time and 
     making an effort to make me feel at home here, the least I 
     could do was to try too. And because of these efforts, I 
     have made friends with some truly great people in this 
     office, including James.
       I also thank James for taking the time to train me on 
     immigration these last few weeks. He has been very patient 
     and understanding with me. Though it was intense, I believed 
     at times that it was all too much at one time, and I felt as 
     if I could never, ever, come close to taking on the role he 
     has had in this office and this community, James reassured me 
     and helped me to believe that I could take on this new role 
     as a CA.
       Ann Limjoco, Suburban Director: I have had the privilege of 
     working with James for more than 6 years now. Over the last 6 
     years, I have seen him become a master at immigration 
     casework. He is the immigration guru in our office. James is 
     the one we would all go to with any questions on immigration. 
     He was able to grasp such an understanding of immigration 
     law, more than any other Constituent Advocate I've seen in 
     the last 6 years in this office. It is so fitting that he is 
     leaving this office to become an immigration lawyer. I think 
     the time he has spent in this office has prepared him to do 
     this.
       I can also call James a good friend. He is the type of 
     person I can rely on at all times. When I moved into my 
     apartment in Glenview, James was right there helping me move 
     boxes into my parents' minivan and unloading them into my new 
     place. We have also spent countless hours going out to dinner 
     or having drinks. I will miss him greatly. Not only will the 
     constituents of the 9th Congressional District be losing a 
     great asset, but we will be losing a great co-worker. 
     However, I know our friendship will continue on and that we 
     will keep in touch. I will miss working with him dearly!
       Kris Sadur, Constituent Advocate: It's been an honor to 
     know and work with James Yoo. His calm demeanor and steadfast 
     dedication to assisting our constituents is unwavering. He is 
     an excellent and patient teacher, assisting all staff on the 
     intricacies of immigration and always willing to listen to 
     questions regarding a case. I will miss his sweet smile, 
     composed nature and astonishing intelligence. We are losing 
     an extraordinary staff member and thoughtful advocate for 
     constituents in the 9th Congressional District.

  I join all of my staff in praising James for his remarkable service 
to our district and to the thousands of people he has helped. I will 
never be able to thank him enough for his extraordinary work and for 
the standard of excellence that he set for our office. I am confident 
that James will continue to make this world a better place and a 
happier place to be. Though I will miss him in the office, I fully 
expect that he will never desert Team Schakowsky.

                          ____________________