1998 Distinguished Public Policy Lecture
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Paul Simon, former Senator from Illinois, will deliver the first lecture in the 1998 Distinguished Public Policy Lecture Series of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. His address, "Public Policy and the American Labor Market, " will be delivered at 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6 in Hardin Hall, 633 Clark Street, Evanston.
Simon currently teaches political science and journalism at Southern Illinois University, whose faculty he joined in 1997 just weeks after retiring from the U.S. Senate. He also is founder and director of the Public Policy Institute on the Carbondale campus.
His wide-ranging policy interests span such diverse topics as labor, the budget, education, disability policy, foreign affairs and television violence. A prolific writer, he has written 16 books on topics ranging from world hunger to the dollar crisis (written with Ross Perot).
His numerous honors includes 47 honorary degrees.
He served for 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives before his 1984 U.S. Senate election. Known for exceptional constituent service, Simon held more than 600 town meetings throughout the state, more than any U.S. senator from Illinois in the state's history. He began his high profile career in Illinois politics beginning with his election to the Illinois House in 1954, followed by his election to the Illinois Senate in 1962. During his 14 years in the legislature, he won the Independent Voters of Illinois' "Best Legislator Award" every session.
He was elected lieutenant governor in 1968 and was the first in the state's history to be elected to that post with a governor of another party.
1/12/98