[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S3106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Georgia N. Alexakis

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Georgia Alexakis to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District 
of Illinois.
  Born in Chicago, IL, Ms. Alexakis earned her A.B., magna cum laude, 
from Harvard College and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Northwestern 
Pritzker School of Law. Following law school, she clerked for Judge 
Marsha S. Berzon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and 
Judge Milton I. Shadur of the U.S. District Court for the Northern 
District of Illinois.
  Ms. Alexakis began her legal career in private practice handling 
breach of contract claims, tax disputes, and product liability matters. 
In 2013, she became an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's 
Office for the Northern District of Illinois. In her first 4 years with 
the USAO, she served in the General Crimes and Narcotics and Money 
Laundering Sections, handling all aspects of criminal investigations 
and prosecution, discovery, and all trial stages. In 2019, she became 
the deputy chief of appeals, maintaining her investigative and trial 
work while supervising other prosecutors on appellate briefs and oral 
argument preparations. She also served as the civil rights and hate 
crimes program coordinator during this time. She returned to private 
practice in 2022 as partner with Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP. 
Later that year, she returned to the USAO as the chief of appeals in 
the Criminal Division.
  Over the course of her legal career, Ms. Alexakis has tried 10 cases 
to verdict, 8 of which were in Federal court, and has argued 
approximately 30 appeals in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The 
American Bar Association unanimously rated Ms. Alexakis as ``well 
qualified,'' and she has the strong support of myself and Senator 
Duckworth.
  Ms. Alexakis's courtroom experience, management credentials, and 
knowledge of the Northern District make her well-positioned to serve on 
the bench with distinction.
  I was proud to recommend Ms. Alexakis to the White House, and I urge 
my colleagues to join me in supporting her nomination.