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Jerry D. Blakemore - General Counsel
Jerry D. Blakemore serves as the General Counsel
for Southern Illinois University and as such is the chief legal
officer for the University and its constituent institutions which
includes Southern
Illinois University Carbondale, with a
School of Medicine in Springfield
and a campus in Nakajo, Japan; and
Southern Illinois
University Edwardsville, with a
School of Dental
Medicine in Alton and a
Center in East
St. Louis. Southern Illinois University is the second largest
public university in the state of Illinois. It is a comprehensive
research university with medical, dental, and law schools and with
degree programs ranging from the associate and baccalaureate levels
through the master's, professional, and doctorate levels.
The General Counsel analyzes laws, regulations
and proposed legislation for their possible impact on the University,
which includes keeping the campus communities informed about legal
risks and their management. The General Counsel also provides guidance
on legal matters including university governance, student affairs,
policy formation, employment issues and grievances, health care,
intellectual property, real property transactions and commercial
transactions undertaken by the University. Mr. Blakemore is responsible
for supervising and managing all areas of litigation.
The General Counsel has joint reporting responsibilities
to the Board of
Trustees and to the
President
of the University. Mr. Blakemore supervises a staff of attorneys
responsible for providing legal advice and counsel to the President,
the Board, and to the administrators, faculty and staff of both
campuses on a wide variety of legal matters. When necessary, he
secures and manages outside legal services for the University.
Prior to accepting the General Counsel position
at SIU, Mr. Blakemore served as the CEO and General Counsel of the
Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA), the municipal corporation
responsible for the construction, maintenance and operations of
U.S. Cellular Field. U.S. Cellular Field is a 44,000-seat professional
baseball facility, which serves as the home of the Chicago White
Sox. Mr. Blakemore was responsible for all facets of the construction,
renovation, maintenance and operations U. S. Cellular Field including
legal, legislative, budget development and implementation (approximately
$34 million) and contract matters.
Mr. Blakemore previously served as Managing Partner
of Sales Goodloe Golden & Blakemore law firm where he headed the
Regulatory and Governmental Affairs Practice Group. Mr. Blakemore's
other private sector experience also includes serving as General
Counsel for the G. R. Group, a mid-sized manufacturing company previously
located in St. Louis, Missouri.
At the age of 30, Mr. Blakemore served as Deputy
Governor and Legal Counsel to former Illinois Governor James R.
Thompson, making him the youngest Deputy Governor in Illinois history
and the first African American. Mr. Blakemore's other public service
positions include serving as Assistant Secretary for Public and
Intergovernmental Affairs,
Department of Labor,
in the Reagan and Bush administrations; Commissioner on the
Illinois
Commerce Commission, where he was responsible for the regulation
of energy, telecommunications, and investor-owned water companies.
Mr. Blakemore was appointed by former Governor Jim Edgar as Chairman
of the Illinois
Board of Higher Education where he served as a member for more
than 12 years.
Mr. Blakemore is a graduate of
Princeton
University from which he received his B. A. Degree in Political
Science in 1976. Mr. Blakemore was the 1976 recipient of the Princeton
University Frederick Douglass Award for his academic and community
service achievements. Mr. Blakemore is a graduate of the
John Marshall Law
School in Chicago, Illinois and is licensed to practice law
before the
Illinois Supreme Court as well as the Federal District Trial
and Appellate courts.
Mr. Blakemore's civic affiliations include: Past
Chairman and member,
Midwest Higher Education
Commission; Past Chairman and member of the Illinois Board of
Higher Education; Past Vice Chairman and member of the Board of
Directors of
Chicago Communities
in Schools, Inc., a not-for-profit agency which facilitates
the provision of health, human and other community services to approximately
fifty Chicago Public Schools. Mr. Blakemore serves as a Member of
the Board of Directors of the
Illinois Dollars for Scholars.
Mr. Blakemore is a member of Trinity United Church
of Christ where he serves as a member of the Board of Deacons, a
confirmation church schoolteacher and volunteer musician for the
Little Warriors, the church's children's choir.
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Disclaimer: The information
contained in this web site is provide as a courtesy to the greater
Southern Illinois University community, and does not constitute
legal advice. Links to non-Southern Illinois University information
are not intended to and do not constitute endorsement by Southern
Illinois University. In the event of any discrepancy between the
information at this site and Southern Illinois University policy,
the official Southern Illinois University policies and/or procedures
will control. Our intent is to provide quality information; however,
we make no claim, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness,
or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to this web
site and its associated sites. As legal advice must be tailored
to the specific circumstances of each case, and laws are constantly
changing, nothing provided herein should be used as a substitute
for the advice of counsel.
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