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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the confirmation of Judge Sunil Harjani to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

After receiving his undergraduate degree and law degree from Northwestern University, Judge Harjani began his legal career at Jenner & Block LLP and later clerked for U.S. District Judge Suzanne B. Conlon on the Northern District of Illinois. He subsequently returned to private practice before working at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2004 to 2008. In 2008, Judge Harjani joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois as an assistant U.S. attorney, prosecuting a range of cases, including securities and commodities fraud, investment fraud, corporate misconduct, and other business-related crimes. Over the course of his legal career, Judge Harjani tried 13 cases before the district court and argued 14 appeals before the Seventh Circuit.

In 2019, Judge Harjani was selected by the district judges of the Northern District of Illinois to be a magistrate judge, where he presides over civil and criminal cases. He has also served as an adjunct professor, previously teaching at the University of Illinois Chicago Law School and currently at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. The American Bar Association rated Judge Harjani as unanimously ``well qualified.''

Given Judge Harjani's considerable courtroom experience--as a litigator and on the bench--Senator Duckworth and I strongly support his nomination.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for his confirmation.

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