Roland Burris

Roland Burris
Occupation	public affairs
Spouse(s)	Dr. Berlean M. Burris, Ph.D.

Roland W. Burris is a former politician and statewide officeholder in Illinois. Burris served as Comptroller of Illinois from 1983 to 1991 and as Attorney General of Illinois from 1991 to 1995. He now maintains a political consulting firm called Burris & Lebed Consulting, LLC.

Biography

Early life

Mr. Burris was born and raised in a small community called Centralia in southern Illinois.

Marriage and children

Mr. Burris is married to Dr. Berlean M. Burris, Ph.D., and is the father of two adult children, Dr. Rolanda S. Burris, and Roland W. Burris II, Esq. He also has a grandson, Roland T. Burris.

Education

He attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He was an exchange student on scholarship to study International Law at the University of Hamburg in Germany. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law in 1963.

Early career

After graduating from law school, Mr. Burris became the first African-American National Bank Examiner for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for the U.S. Treasury Department. In that capacity, he traveled throughout the midwest examining banks in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. From 1964 to 1973, he worked at Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company (now Bank of America), serving as tax accountant, tax consultant, commercial banking officer, and vice-president. He headed a commercial group that covered government guaranteed loans and minority business banking.

From 1973 to 1977, he was appointed by the governor of Illinois as Director of the Department of Central Management Services.

He was National Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for Operation PUSH from January to October 1977. He was in private law practice from October 1977 to January 1979, and again from June 1995 to present.

Political career

From 1979 to 1991, Mr. Burris was elected to the office of Comptroller of Illinois. He was the first African American to be elected to a statewide office in the state of Illinois.

From 1991 to 1995, he was Attorney General for the State of Illinois, where he headed over 500 lawyers. There, he was the second African American elected to the office of Attorney General in the United States.

In 1995, he ran for mayor of Chicago, losing to incumbent Richard M. Daley. In 2002, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for Governor of Illinois.

Current career

Roland W. Burris is serving as Manager/CEO of Burris & Lebed Consulting, LLC. It is a strategic consulting service concentrating in the areas of public relations, governmental representation, political strategies, and corporate strategies. He also serves as of counsel to the law firm of Gonzalez, Saggio and Harlan, L.L.C. His areas of legal concentration are business transactions, estate planning, wills, trusts, probate, and consumer affairs.

Civic Activities

Mr. Burris is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Inland Real Estate Corporation as an Independent Director and is Chairman of Governance and Nominating Committee. Inland is a $2 billion Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the NYSE, which own medium-sized shopping centers. As an Independent Director, he serves on the Audit Committee.

He serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Master of Public Administration Program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

• Member, Board of the Auditorium Theater of Chicago (2001-2006)
• Member, Board of The National Center for Responsible Gaming (1996-2005)
• Trustee, Financial Accounting Foundation (1991-1994)
• Chairman, National Association of Attorneys General, Civil Rights Commission (1993-1995)
• Trustee, Governemtn Finance Officers Association of U.S. and Canada (1987-1991)
• Member, Howard University Law School Alumni Association
• Member, Southern Illinois University Foundation
• Member, Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago
• Member, U.S. Jaycees
• Vice-Chairman, Committee on Illinois Government
• Trustee, Goodwill Industries
• Member, Chicago Area Council, Boy Souts of America
• Member, Board of Directors, Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University (1996)
• Chairman, Illinois State Justice Commission (1994-1996)
• Chairman and Founder, Illinois Commission of the African-American Males (1992-1994)
• Vice-Chairman, Democratic National Committee (1985-1989)
• Life member, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• Life member, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
• Life member, Southern Illinois Alumni Association
• Order of the United Supreme Council of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Free Masons, Prince Hall Chapter (32nd Degree)
• Chairman, Civil Rights Committee, National Association of Attorneys General (1993-1994)
• President, National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (1981-1982)
• Member, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Beta Boule

Recognitions and Awards

• 100 Most Influential Black Americans, Ebony Magazine (1979-1995)
• Ten Most Distinguished Alumni in the History of the University - Wall of Fame, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (1997)
• Distinguished Accomplishments in the Field of Law, National Bar Association (1993)
• One of the Top Three Government Financial Officers in the Nation, City and State Magazine (1989)
• Mackey Award, National Football League Players Association (1989)

References

• "State Comptroller, Roland W. Burris: Anatomy of a Career," Dollars & Sense magazine (cover, February/March 1979)

See also

• biography
• Template:Infobox Biography
• WikiProject Biography
• WikiProject Inquiry
• List of African-American firsts

External links

• Burris & Lebed Consulting, LLC website