Chicago Say No More Breakfast with Attorney General Lisa Madigan

LISA MADIGAN AND FAMILY AT ST.PAT'S DAY PARADE

1871 CEO Howard Tullman Joins Attorney General Lisa Madigan for Presentation on Tech and the Law

1871 CEO HOWARD TULLMAN HONORED AT IMERMAN ANGELS GALA

Lisa Madigan Introductory Remarks 

Thank you for that introduction and for inviting me to join you for Imerman Angels’ Wings of Hope Gala.

Tonight, I have the pleasure of introducing the Wings of Hope Awardee – Howard Tullman.

And you couldn’t have picked a better person to honor.

Here’s why:

When Jonny Imerman, got cancer, at a much too young age, he wanted to meet someone who had survived his type of cancer. To talk with someone who had not only faced the same type of cancer, but beat it. To know that there is hope. Then Jonny wanted to give that vital support to everyone fighting cancer.

But we all know a lot of people in the world who have great ideas, but most of the time they remain just that – ideas.

Too few people turn their great ideas into reality.

But we are here tonight, because Jonny didn’t just beat cancer, he turned his idea into reality by creating Imerman Angels - to make sure that no one faces cancer alone.

And when I think about who in Chicago can turn ideas into reality, the first person that comes to my mind is Howard Tullman. That’s why I can’t think of a better person to honor with the Wings of Hope Award.

Howard is a visionary.

Over the years that I have known Howard, he has had at least 4 jobs. And really, it’s not even accurate to say he had jobs.

What Howard has are ideas - Big ideas! Ideas that help people. Ideas that help people realize their dreams. That’s what Howard does: He turns dreams into reality. Howard puts his heart and soul into bringing ideas to life.

Among my favorite ideas that Howard has brought to life:

The rebirth of Kendall College.

Howard became the president of Kendall College and within 9 months, he had developed a strategy to make it one of the top culinary and hospitality institutions in the country. He sold the college’s Evanston campus, raised $60 million and moved the campus to a state-of-the-art facility on Chicago’s Goose Island. It’s a stunning school producing terrific chefs.

Howard created Experiencia World.

It’s has a little city, called Exchange City, that has all the services a city needs:  a post office, a mayor’s office, a bank, an electric company, a hospital.

Elementary school kids come for the day and each gets to run something in the city. This elaborate mini city allows kids to see and understand and have responsibility for running everything to keep the city functioning. They learn how the real world works.

Then Howard started Flashpoint Academy.

He knew that kids interested in gaming and animation needed to get out of their parents’ basements and get an education with real experience. The first time I toured Flashpoint, I was awed by the technology.

The cameras, software and editing equipment at Flashpoint is sometimes so new it isn’t even on the market yet. So students are trained to use state of the art equipment in state-of-the-art studios and animation labs, and they have an edge in getting jobs.

And now, Howard is sharing his expertise as head of 1871. 

At 1871, Howard is helping people transform their ideas into start ups and creating a community where people help each other.

These examples demonstrate the core connection between Howard and Jonny:

They don’t just inspire people with brilliant ideas.

They don’t just talk about how nice it would be to help people:

They make them happen.

And as they move forward, they give back.

They make our world a better place.

                                                                                                                     

I love and respect people like Howard and Jonny.

Take a look at this video to see Howard’s commitment and impact on Imerman Angels.

Howard Tullman Acceptance Remarks

I want to thank Jonny and everyone else at Imerman Angels for this great award and for all their amazing work and unstinting service in support of so many others.

I want to thank my dear friend Lisa Madigan for being here tonight and for her kind words. She continues to be my favorite oxymoron: a politician you can believe in.

I want to thank my co-chair Richard Price who instantly agreed to help and support me in this endeavor. He’s one of the city’s great professional and charitable leaders and an amazing cheerleader for everything that’s right in Chicago. 

And finally, I want to thank all of you for your generous support of this great cause and for honoring us with your presence tonight. Having so many friends here has made a special night even that much more spectacular. (A special shout-out to Joe Shanahan for being with us and for being a guy whose courage and grace has been a true inspiration. Joe was METRO before metrosexual was even a word.)

We all think we’re immortal until our own lives (or the lives of those we love dearly) are touched by sadness, loss, injury or disease and then we realize how fragile our lives really are; how precious our health is; and how fortunate we are to have our family and friends around us.

The very best we can do is to live our lives fully every day (no one does this better or more enthusiastically than Jonny) and also to resolve as well to help as many others along the way as we can.

My life has been blessed in too many ways to count, but we all have rough times as well when we need the strength and love of our families, and I know that I wouldn’t be standing here before you tonight without the constant love and support of my wife Judy for so many years and through every peak and every valley we’ve encountered together. I want to take a special moment to thank her and to share this honor with her.      

I tell the hundreds of eager entrepreneurs that I deal with every week at 1871 that no one today does anything by themselves and so I’m also extremely grateful that I have always been surrounded, enabled, inspired and empowered by the efforts, commitment and dedication of other special individuals whose actions, passions and examples have enriched my life as well.

But at the end of the day, it’s the unexpected and unrequested care and kindness of strangers who offer their support in our times of need that most surprises us and reminds us of the place and the importance that love and charity will always have in our lives.

The particular brilliance of Jonny’s idea – to organize and scale the power of one-to-one peer assistance – is that it turns the rewards of unselfish service to others from a conceptually nice and incidental thing to do into a visceral, concrete and continual connection between two people that can last a lifetime; enhance the lives of both individuals; and serve as a constant example for others that we each have the power and ability to help make our world a better place. In the Jewish tradition, we call this “tikkun olam” which means repairing the world. And that is what I believe that the Imerman Angels do every day.

This is why I have been a long-time supporter of IA and why I’m so honored and grateful that many of you here tonight have - on my behalf – joined with us to help move this great organization forward and to extend its reach and impact so that they can continue each day to make a difference in the lives of so many.

Thank you again. 

1871 CEO WELCOMES ATTORNEY GENERAL LISA MADIGAN TO 1871 FOR DATA INSECURITY CONFERENCE

ATTORNEY GENERAL LISA MADIGAN VISITS 1871 FOR TOUR AND MEMBER CHATS

LISA MADIGAN'S CHAMPIONS EVENT AT FULTON'S ON THE RIVER

CLOSING REMARKS BY HOWARD TULLMAN:

I know. You’re asking yourselves what’s he still doing here? I’m usually gone before they serve the salad, but Lisa, who’s nothing if not crafty, had them put me at the end of the program since she knew that no one would be briefer or more ready to leave than me.



So let me ask you just one last important question. Where has she been keeping all that hair for all these years? Honestly, who knew we had “Sigourney” Madigan in our midst?


But seriously, here’s the real question – when’s the last time you were proud to vote for a politician? How long has it been since we’ve had the luxury of supporting someone we believed in and not the lesser (albeit shorter) of two evils?


That’s why it’s so important to be here today and so critical that everyone here – sad and disheartened as we may all be about the general state of things – not forget the one “general” who actually cares about justice, who works her butt off, who stands up for the people who can’t defend themselves, and who just makes you proud to say –“she’s ours” and she’s out there every day making the state a better place for all of us.


So that’s why I’m still here, why I’ve been supporting her forever, and why I think in the very short time that we have before this election that every one of us needs to get up, get involved, get a friend or two to join the team as well, and do everything we can to re-elect the best Attorney General in the United States – Lisa “Sigourney” Madigan.

TRIBECA FLASHPOINT ACADEMY WELCOMES ATTORNEY GENERAL LISA MADIGAN AND VOLUNTEERS FOR TELETHON AND SCREENING OF NEW LAW & ORDER EPISODE

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Law & Order: SVU Viewing Party Tomorrow! Celebrate Attorney General Lisa Madigan's Work for Victims of Sexual Assault


Just to give you an idea of how important legislation on rape and sexual assault is, more than 232,960 women in the US were raped in 2006 alone, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. That's more than 600 women every day.




The state of Illinois saw more than 5,610 rapes in the year 2001. But even more frightening than the magnitude of numbers of rapes and sexual assaults committed every year is the estimation that less than 30% of Illinois rapes are reported to the police, according to the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault. On top of that, so many of those reported cases are left uninvestigated or inconclusive.




Rape and sexual assault are crimes too frequently committed in our own backyard. It is essential that everything is done to find and charge attackers so as to ensure that they cannot assault another victim. Unfortunately, as of earlier this year, an estimated 4,000 untested rape kits were stored away in police departments throughout the state--cases of assault left uninvestigated. Luckily for us, Attorney General Lisa Madigan decided that something should be done.




Because of Lisa Madigan's work, the Illinois Rape Kit Law was passed into law on July 6 of this year. The law is the first of its kind passed on the state-level, making Illinois the pioneer state in justice for rape and sexual assault victims. Madigan's historic Rape Kit Law mandates the testing of evidence collected in cases of sexual assault. Investigating law enforcement agencies are required to submit all evidence of sexual assault to crime labs within 10 days of receiving it from the hospital, and are required by law to provide the Illinois state police with an inventory of all untested kits in their possession.






With Lisa Madigan's help, Illinois rapes and sexual assaults will no longer go uninvestigated. Illinois women can feel safer and more empowered to report assaults to the police knowing that everything will be done to ensure justice is served.




Tomorrow, to celebrate the Attorney General's work on the historic Rape Kit law, Citizens for Lisa Madigan is hosting a viewing party of this week's Law & Order: SVU. This week's episode highlights the importance of Illinois' groundbreaking rape kit law. Guests will be given the opportunity to learn more and discuss Lisa Madigan's critical work for survivors of sexual assault. Drinks and light dinner will be also be provided.