University of Illinois is honoring President Barack Obama with its prestigious ethics in government award, school leaders announced Thursday.
Obama will come to the Urbana-Champaign campus Sept. 7 to accept the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government, an annual honor given by the university’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs to recognize “public officials who have made significant contributions to the understanding and practice of ethical behavior in public service.”
The award is named for late Illinois Sen. Paul Douglas and has been given out since 1994. Obama is the 28th honoree.
“We are honored that President Obama will personally address our students,” University President Tim Killeen said in a statement. “And we are grateful to IGPA for bringing President Obama here, and giving his home state’s flagship university system an opportunity to recognize his dedicated service to our state and nation.”
Obama is scheduled to give a speech at Foellinger Auditorium in accepting the award. Spokeswoman Katie Hill said his remarks will build upon messages he delivered in the final year of his presidency about threats to the strength of U.S. democracy.
“He will echo his call to reject the rising strain of authoritarian politics and policies,” Hill said in a statement. “And he will preview arguments he’ll make this fall, specifically that Americans must not fall victim to our own apathy by refusing to do the most fundamental thing demanded of us as citizens: vote.
“President Obama believes the solution to our long-term challenges can be best addressed when we all fully participate in our democracy. His post-presidency is the next chapter in the cause of his life – bringing people together to change the world for the better.”
Previous honorees of the Douglas Award include Sen. John McCain, who died Saturday. McCain was honored alongside Sen. Russell Feingold of Wisconsin in 2000.
Other award recipients include former Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O’Connor and John Paul Stevens, Congressman John Lewis and former Federal Reserve Board chairs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen.
drhodes@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @rhodes_dawn
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