CHICAGO — Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, challenged Northwestern law and business students Monday to realize that as future leaders they must be ethically responsible.
Speaking at the Law School on the Chicago Campus, Hastert shared personal experiences with an audience of approximately 300, which included University President Henry Bienen and Hastert’s son Ethan, a second-year law student.
“I think you are very important people in the future of this country,” Hastert said. “If you weren’t, I wouldn’t be here. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t be entrusting one of my own here.”
Hastert recalled setting a deadline for Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers to write a bill together for Congress. The two men had been avoiding each other out of mutual dislike.
“It was like taking kids from sophomore study hall and saying, ‘You’ve gotta do this,'” said Hastert, a former teacher and coach at Yorkville High School.
After spending the first 16 years of his career in education, Hastert is serving his third term as Speaker of the House and his ninth term as the Republican congressman for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District.
The speech was given at the Law School and was presented by the Brodsky Family Northwestern JD-MBA (Law and Masters of Business) Fund, established by William and Joan Brodsky to honor their three children who graduated from the program, Michael Brodsky, ’94; Stephen Brodsky, ’97; and Jonathan Brodsky, ’00.
The three-year program is a collaboration between the Law School and Kellogg School of Management and “is built on the premise that the worlds of business and law are increasingly intertwined,” said David Van Zandt, dean of the Law School.
Hastert, as well as introductory speakers Van Zandt, William Brodsky and Dean of Kellogg Dipak Jain, acknowledged the worldwide recognition NU’s program has received.
Hastert, the third-highest elected official in Washington, amused listeners by comparing life on Capitol Hill to life in rural Illinois.
When Hastert was a history, economics and government teacher, he wanted to increase his salary options. He was told that he would have to switch into administration. He said solving fights as a high school principal sounded unappealing, so he ran for public office instead. Yet serving as Speaker of the House is similar to being a principal, Hastert said.
“They call me a speaker, but they really ought to call me a listener,” he said. “I listen to all sorts of problems, trying to get people to come together.”
Law School student Rob Lynch said Hastert’s anecdotes changed his view of the Legislature.
“It was valuable to see another aspect of government, that there are real people behind legislation,” Lynch said.
Lynch said he was impressed that a person of Hastert’s stature visited NU.
Bienen also noted the value of having the Speaker address students. Bienen thanked Hastert for the great things he has done for the country, the state and NU, including caring enough to visit campus.
“I think both the fact that he came and the context of what he said was very valuable to our community,” Bienen told The Daily.
Hastert left his listeners with the charge to always consider the consequences of their choices as professionals.
“The right thing to do isn’t necessarily what comes out of ethics class or Sunday school class,” Hastert said. “As attorneys, judges or executives, you’re going to make decisions that affect hundreds, thousands or millions of people. How do you do it in a way that winds up for the highest good?”
