Kouri Marshall is packing bags for Denver to represent southern Illinois at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Marshall, a graduate student from Peoria studying public administration, said he was informed Tuesday that he would represent the 12wth Congressional District at the DNC. The 12th Congressional District of Illinois includes 12 counties in southern Illinois, including Jackson County. Marshall, a pledged delegate for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was accepted as an alternate delegate by the Clinton presidential campaign.
Marshall said a pledged delegate for Clinton would no longer be attending the DNC, leaving him the space to move up from alternate. According to the official Web site for the DNC 2008, Illinois has a total number of 184 delegates and 26 alternates. Only delegates have a vote for the presidential nominee.
"I am excited to see history in the making," Marshall said. "I believe that Hillary will continue to do a great job as a prominent leader of our country, and I am confident Barack will do the same as president of the United States of America."
Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, said Marshall has always had a strong interest in politics and public policy, and will likely take full advantage of the networking opportunities at the DNC.
"I'm not surprised that he's a delegate at this point and I won't be surprised to see him move on in politics," Lawrence said.
Lawrence said he has been to eight national conventions, five as a reporter and three as press secretary for former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar. Over the years, the conventions have changed, Lawrence said, but there's still a lot of excitement.
"It's a great opportunity to interact with people who we've all seen on television and read about in the newspapers," Lawrence said.
Marshall said as a delegate he has the opportunity to vote on the Democratic Party presidential nominee as well as attend Illinois delegation meetings, where he will mingle with the political leaders of the state.
Though Marshall supported and worked for the Clinton presidential campaign, he said he has no conflicts supporting Obama in the presidential election. Marshall said he worked for the Obama campaign in 2004 during the U.S. Senate elections and is now a part of the "Washington, D.C. for Obama" group.
"Our party is now unified," Marshall said. "This election is not about Senator Obama or Senator Clinton anymore, it is about Senator John McCain."
Marshall said he is now working as a political fundraiser through the Center for Progressive Leadership in Washington, D.C. as part of his internship component for graduate school.
Above all else, Marshall said he is grateful to one person in particular: Dean Pat McNeil of the Graduate School's Underserved Fellowships Office.
"I do know that, had I not met Dean McNeil, I would not be in this position," Marshall said. "It was her connections that got me here and in many other places."
Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 274 or mleroux@siu.edu.
