George Miller Burditt Jr. (September 21, 1922 – March 12, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician, best known for his work on food safety law.

Early life and education

Burditt was born at St. Anthony's Hospital on the West Side of Chicago, but grew up in

La Grange, Illinois ''(the barn)'' , nickname = , motto = ''Tradition & Pride – Moving Forward'' , anthem = ''My La Grange'' by Jimmy Dunne , image_map = File:Cook County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas La Grange Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 26 ...

. He attended Lyons Township High School in Lagrange, starring on the basketball team (and later being inducted into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame), and serving as valedictorian upon his graduation in 1940. Burditt went on to attend

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, completing his degree in 1944 while also serving as a pilot in the Air Force from 1943 to 1945. He followed this with a degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

after the war, graduating in 1948.

Legal career

After his graduation from Harvard Law, Burditt entered legal practice in Chicago, first at the firm of Chadwell, Keck, Kayser, Ruggles & McLaren, and later at Swift & Co. In 1969, Burditt started his own law firm, Burditt & Calkins. This firm later became part of Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, which was later acquired by

K&L Gates K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Its namesake firms are Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, a Pittsburg ...

. Burditt continued practicing law, later at his daughter's firm, until the final months of his life at age 90. He was recognized as "the dean of attorneys in the United States practicing food and drug law." In addition to his legal practice and political and charity work, Burditt taught as an adjunct member of the faculty at Northwestern University Law School for thirty years, from 1967 to 1997.

Political career

Burditt took to political life quickly in the 1950s, chairing the Young Republicans of Cook County from 1952 to 1953. He served as state vice-chair of the Eisenhower reelection campaign in 1956, and in numerous other capacities. In 1964, Burditt was elected as a Republican member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

, in an unprecedented statewide at-large election. In subsequently elections, he ran in the 9th state legislative district; he held this seat until 1972. In the 77th General Assembly of Illinois, 1971–1972, Burditt served as Assistant Majority Leader. During his career, he sponsored numerous reforms of food and drug safety and environmental law; he was the chief sponsor of the 1970 Illinois Environmental Protection Act and the Illinois Endangered Species Act. In 1974, Burditt ran against

Adlai Stevenson III Adlai Ewing Stevenson III (October 10, 1930 – September 6, 2021) was an American attorney and politician of the Democratic Party who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1970 until 1981. A member of the prominent Stevenson fami ...

for the US Senate, but lost amid a nationwide wave of anti-Republican sentiment following president

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

's pardon of Richard Nixon. He did not run for office again after this, although he remained active behind the scenes.

Charitable work

Burditt was highly active in the nonprofit sphere, serving as trustee and donor to numerous Chicago-area institutions, including the

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...

. Organizations he chaired at one point or another included the Chicago Bar Association, Harvard Law School Association,

Citizens of Greater Chicago Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

Chicago Civic Association (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and the Junior Association of Commerce and Industry. In addition, from 1964 to January 1967, Burditt served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Shimer College, then located in Mount Carroll, Illinois; he had joined the board in 1956. His tenure as chairman overlapped with the period in this tiny school's history known as the "Grotesque Internecine Struggle", a bitter political fight between younger faculty and students on the one hand and older faculty and the administration on the other. Although he was not directly involved, a letter sent by Burditt played a galvanizing role in the struggle:

A week long campaign by the Apathy Committee climaxed on December with a panel discussion featuring students, faculty, and administrators. Three days later Dr. David Weiser received a letter from George Burditt, chairman of the Board of Trustees, suggesting that he resign. Apathy hasn't been mentioned since.

Death and legacy

Burditt died on March 12, 2013, at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital, following a heart attack earlier in the month.

Works cited

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burditt, George 1922 births 2013 deaths Lawyers from Chicago Politicians from Chicago Writers from Chicago Harvard Law School alumni Military personnel from Illinois Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from La Grange, Illinois Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law faculty United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Army Air Forces officers 20th-century American lawyers