Alumni Board member Sheila J. Simon ’83 has been named the Democratic Party’s 2010 nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. A clinical associate professor of law at Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Law, Simon, daughter of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, will join Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on the Democratic ticket.

“I hope to meet with people across the state of Illinois and give them the opportunity to get to know me on my own ground – to know me as a lawyer, as a former prosecutor, as a teacher, a wife and a mother,” Simon explained on Chicago’s Breaking News’ website. “The famous name gets my foot in the door, and that’s only the start. It shouldn’t be the end.”

Prior to joining the faculty as SIU where she brings a background in civil and criminal law, Simon was an assistant state’s attorney for four years, with two of those years spent prosecuting domestic batterers. Her civil experience includes five years as a staff attorney at Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance and three years in private practice.