Alumni

Featured Alumni & Friends--Kirk Dillard '77

Kirk DillardKirk Dillard is a partner in the Chicago office of one of the world’s largest law firms, Locke Lord LLP. He is also the Chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) in metropolitan Chicago – the nation’s second largest mass transit system with assets of $150 billion and over 2 million daily riders. Recently, Kirk was requested by new Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to co-chair the Governor’s Infrastructure Transition Team.

For nearly 20 years, Kirk was a prolific state senator representing Chicagoland’s western suburbs and prior to the legislature, served with distinction as former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar’s Chief of Staff. Senator Dillard also served as a Judge on the Illinois Court of Claims and as former Governor James R. Thompson’s legislative director. Importantly, he launched his career through a legislative staff internship from WIU!

In the 1990’s Sen. Dillard led Western’s award-winning Alumni Council as President and has received both the “Alumni Achievement” and the “Distinguished Alumni Award” from his alma mater. Kirk was instrumental in having the State invest to make U.S. 67 a four lane highway into Macomb and helped spearhead WIU’s successful effort to build its new Performing Arts Center. As Governor Edgar’s Chief of Staff, Kirk helped launch Western’s incredible campus in the Quad Cities.

While enrolled at WIU Kirk served two terms as the student member of the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities and as President of the Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity overseeing its annual “Make Me Smile” festivals which raised tens of thousands of dollars for the McDonough County Rehabilitation Center. In 1977, he was awarded the Interfraternity Council’s “WIU Man of the Year.”

Still active with Western, during the 2014 fall semester Sen. Dillard assisted W.I.U. Political Science Department Chair, Professor Keith Bockelman, in teaching an advanced Illinois government class, which included the students visiting/meeting at the Illinois State Capitol building.

Among his many honors, Sen. Dillard was named to “Who’s Who in Chicago Business” by Crain’s Chicago Business. He has been named an “Illinois Super Lawyer” and to the “Leading Lawyers Network” by his peers and was inducted into the “Legislative Staff Hall of Fame” by the University of Illinois and Illinois Issues magazine.

Sen. Dillard is a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission which just oversaw the beautiful restoration of the Supreme Court building in Springfield. He is also a frequent author of newspaper, bar journal, and law review columns and articles. His scholarly writings have been cited multiple times by the Illinois Supreme Court and are on the “Recommended Reading” List of the National Law Journal.

According to the Springfield State Journal Register newspaper, “Dillard is generally regarded to be among the most affable, knowledgeable and respected people in State Government.” The same holds true at Western Illinois University, where he was recently added as a member of WIU President, Jack Thomas’, national advisory board.

Kirk lives in Hinsdale, Illinois with his wife, Stephanie, and his daughters.