George M. Burditt :::
George M. Burditt
Graduated in 1940
Inducted in 1999
A 1940 graduate of LTHS, George M. Burditt was valedictorian of the class, president of the Student Council, the Latin Club and the French Club. He is also a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Lawyer, professor, politician, and civic volunteer, Burditt contributed to a myriad of fields for more than three decades. He founded the law firm of Burditt & Calkins in 1969. He was named president of the Chicago Bar Association, the Law Club of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Bar Leaders Caucus. From 1973-1993, he served as director of the Gerber Products Company, overseeing its legal dealings. In the educational arena, he taught as an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University School of Law from 1967-1997. He was named Harvard's Chief Marshall in 1969. He presided over the Harvard Law Society of Illinois, chaired the Harvard Law School Fund, and was president of the Harvard Law School Association. In the 60's he served as Chairman of the Board at Shimer College. Burditt's political career began in 1965 when he was elected as an Illinois State Representative; he served two terms. He was the chief sponsor of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act of 1970, the Illinois Endangered Species Act, and the first male sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment, 1969. He was the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois in 1974, running against incumbent Senator Adlai Stevenson. He has donated his time and expertise to local causes and charities, serving as Chairman of the Western Springs Plan Commission, the Lyons Township Mental Health Board, and Citizens of Greater Chicago, as Director of the International Human Rights Law Institute and the U.S./South Africa Leader Exchange Program, and as Chairman of the Board of Deacons of the First Congregational Church of Western Springs. His leadership has been recognized and awarded by the Better Government Association, the Cook County Bar Association, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Food and Drug Law Institute, and others.