[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 40 (Thursday, March 2, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONFIRMATION OF COLLEEN R. LAWLESS

 Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate voted to 
confirm Colleen Lawless to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the 
Central District of Illinois in my hometown of Springfield.
  Born in Joliet, IL, Judge Lawless received her bachelor's degree from 
Illinois Wesleyan University and her J.D. from Northern Illinois 
University College of Law. After graduating from law school, Judge 
Lawless joined the Springfield, IL, firm Londrigan, Potter & Randle 
P.C., where she represented plaintiffs and defendants in State and 
Federal courts, including the court to which she has now been 
nominated. In this role, she handled matters ranging from employment 
discrimination to medical malpractice to family law and tried four 
cases to verdict before a jury.
  In 2019, the judges of Illinois' Seventh Judicial Circuit appointed 
Judge Lawless to serve as an associate circuit judge, and she is 
currently assigned to the domestic relations division. Since her 
appointment to the bench, Judge Lawless has presided over 125 domestic 
relations bench trials and many more proceedings implicating mental 
health commitments, small claims, evictions, and emergency protection 
orders. Notably, she has never been reversed or significantly 
criticized by a reviewing court.
  Judge Lawless received a rating of ``well qualified'' from the ABA 
and a bipartisan vote in committee. She was also highly recommended by 
a judicial screening committee that Senator Duckworth and I established 
to consider judicial candidates for the Central District of Illinois.
  Judge Lawless will fill the Springfield-based seat that has been 
occupied over the past decade by Judge Sue Myerscough. I want to thank 
Judge Myerscough for her outstanding service to the people of the 
central Illinois. She leaves big shoes to fill, but I am confident that 
Judge Lawless is more than up to the task. Given her significant trial 
experience and deep knowledge of the Central District, Senator 
Duckworth and I strongly support Judge Lawless. I was glad to see her 
confirmed.
  (At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)

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