[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15321-15322]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      BRUCE AND ELLIS NOMINATIONS

  Mr. DURBIN. I rise to speak in support of two individuals whose 
nominations will be voted on at 5 p.m. We haven't set any records in 
the Senate in the last 5 weeks for productivity. We passed one major 
piece of legislation, which the Senator from Oregon brought before us 
relative to the issue of our helium reserve. It was great work. It is 
one of the few bipartisan actions we have accomplished in 5 weeks, 
maybe the only bipartisan one. At 5 p.m. we have a chance to improve 
our record.
  These are two nominees for Federal district court judges in Illinois 
that I commend to the Members of the Senate.
  I wish to say at the outset it isn't only this Senator on this side 
of the aisle making this recommendation, Senator Mark Kirk and I worked 
on a bipartisan basis to come up with these nominees and get them 
approved by our nomination committees. They are then approved by us, by 
the White House, by the Judiciary Committee, and brought to the floor.
  Since Senator Kirk has been elected, we have done this in lockstep, 
together every step of the way. By tradition, the President's party 
Senator, in this case myself, has three appointments. Senator Kirk has 
the fourth, but each of us has the veto power over the other's choices.
  We have a working relationship and a good one. Senator Kirk has 
endorsed these two nominees: Colin Bruce, who has been nominated to 
serve in the Central District of Illinois, and Sara Ellis, nominated to 
serve in the Northern District of Illinois. They have the experience, 
qualifications, and integrity to be excellent Federal judges. Both 
appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing on June 
19, and both were reported out of the committee by a unanimous voice 
vote.
  I would like briefly to discuss their backgrounds and qualifications.
  Colin Bruce has been nominated to fill the judicial vacancy that 
opened in Urbana when Judge Michael McCuskey took senior status. 
Michael McCuskey is also one of my appointments, an outstanding Federal 
judge. I am sorry he is going into senior status, but he felt, and I 
did too, that Colin Bruce would be an excellent replacement to succeed 
him in that position.
  Mr. Bruce has worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central 
District of Illinois since 1989. He currently serves as the first 
assistant U.S. attorney, a position he has held since 2010.
  Colin Bruce applied for the position of U.S. attorney. He didn't get 
it. But the man who did, the man I selected, Jim Lewis, hired him as 
his first assistant. So it was a few months ago that Jim Lewis, the 
U.S. District Attorney, came by my office with Colin Bruce. We talked 
about a number of things, and he said: Incidentally, I don't know what 
I would do without Colin Bruce. He is such an extraordinary first 
assistant. When he finished his presentation, I said: Jim, would you 
stick around for a minute; Colin, go outside, if you would. I said: 
Jim, I have an opening for a judgeship, and I know Colin is a person 
who would fill that bill. He has already gone through all the vetting. 
He would be an extraordinary judge, but you would lose him as your 
first assistant. He said: I can't stand in his way. I couldn't think of 
a better choice to be a judge in this district.
  Colin Bruce was born in Urbana, IL. He got his undergraduate and law 
degrees from the University of Illinois and went straight to the U.S. 
Attorney's Office out of law school. He has handled criminal, civil 
cases, and bankruptcy and tort claims filed against the government. He 
then shifted to prosecuting complex criminal matters, drug fraud and 
cyber crime cases. In 2007, he was appointed branch chief of the Urbana 
division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, and in 2010 he was named first 
assistant U.S. attorney, which is the No. 2 position, as I mentioned.
  In his current capacity, he oversees the day-to-day operations of the 
U.S. Attorney's Office, supervises all the Federal criminal 
investigations, prosecutions, and appeals in the district, as well as 
civil defensive and affirmative litigation in the district in which the 
United States is a party.
  He has received numerous recognitions, including certifications of 
appreciation from the Justice Department, the FBI, and the DEA, as well 
as awards from the Illinois State Police and the Metropolitan 
Enforcement Group and Task Force.
  He has a record of giving back to the Urbana community through his 
association with charities, such as the Central Illinois Chapter of the 
American Red Cross and Imagine No Malaria, a charity that purchases 
mosquito nets for families in Africa.
  He is an outstanding nominee for the Federal bench, and has a great 
family whom he brought to the hearing. I certainly urge my colleagues 
to join Senator Kirk and me in supporting his nomination.
  The second nominee is Sara Ellis. She has been nominated for a 
Chicago-based judgeship that was formerly occupied by the distinguished 
Judge Joan Gottschall. Ms. Ellis currently works at the prestigious law 
firm of Schiff Hardin in Chicago, where her practice involves white-
collar criminal matters, complex civil litigation, and corporate 
counseling.
  She was born in Ontario, Canada, to parents who had emigrated from 
Jamaica. She moved to the United States and became a citizen at the age 
of 15. Her undergraduate degree is from Indiana University and her law 
degree is from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
  After law school, Ms. Ellis joined the Federal Defender Program in 
Chicago, where she served for 6 years as a staff attorney. In this 
capacity she represented indigent criminal defendants in all aspects of 
criminal litigation, preliminary hearings, trials, sentencing hearings, 
and appeals. She then worked in private practice for several years 
before joining the City of Chicago Department of Law in 2004, where she 
served as assistant corporation counsel for 4 years, primarily handling 
section 1983 cases.
  In 2008, Ms. Ellis joined Schiff Hardin, where she handles criminal 
and civil matters. She has served as an adjunct professor at Loyola 
University Chicago School of Law, teaching Federal criminal practice 
and legal writing.
  She has a distinguished record of pro bono work and community 
service. Among her endeavors she has taught

[[Page 15322]]

reading and legal skills to children living in juvenile detention and 
she has provided legal advice and guidance to the Warren Park Youth 
Baseball League.
  She is also actively involved with St. Gertrude Catholic Parish in 
Chicago and is on the board of the parish school, Northside Catholic 
Academy.
  Ms. Ellis is an excellent nominee for a Federal judge. She too is a 
person with great family and children backing her up, and I am happy 
Senator Kirk and I can commend her as well to the Senate for this 
nomination.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in voting to confirm these two 
nominees who have bipartisan support and will be outstanding Federal 
judges.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.

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