[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S4364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                 Nomination of Jeffrey Irvine Cummings

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Judge Jeffrey Cummings to the U.S. District Court for the Northern 
District of Illinois.
  Judge Cummings received his bachelor's degree from Michigan State 
University and his J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law. 
Following law school, he clerked for Judge Ann Claire Williams on the 
Northern District of Illinois.
  Judge Cummings then entered private practice in Chicago, where he 
developed expertise in various civil rights issues, including 
employment discrimination, voting rights, and housing discrimination.
  He has spent nearly his entire practice litigating in Federal courts 
and has tried eight cases to verdict. Notably, he worked on the largest 
ever hospice-related recovery for the United States in the history of 
the False Claims Act.
  While in private practice, Judge Cummings also served as an 
administrative hearing officer for the city of Chicago Commission on 
Human Relations and as a hearing officer for the city of Chicago Police 
Board, where he was responsible for conducting contested disciplinary 
hearings in cases involving allegations of misconduct against Chicago 
police officers.
  In 2019, Judge Cummings was selected by the district judges of the 
Northern District to serve as a magistrate judge. Since joining the 
bench, he has handled both civil and criminal matters and has presided 
over three jury trials.
  The American Bar Association unanimously rated Judge Cummings ``well 
qualified,'' and he has the strong support of Senator Duckworth and 
myself. Given his vast litigation background and experience on the 
bench, he will be a tremendous addition to the court. I am honored to 
vote for his confirmation, and I urge my colleagues join me.

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