Former Speaker of the U.S. House J. Dennis Hastert to speak at SXU's round table discussion

Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives J. Dennis Hastert will discuss civility in government as part of Saint Xavier University's Sweeney Family Lecture at 6:30 p.m. on Wed., March 21. The round table discussion, titled “Civility in Government: A Conversation with J. Dennis Hastert, Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives,” will take place in McGuire Hall, located in the Warde Academic Center on SXU's Chicago campus, 3700 W. 103rd St. The event is free and open to the public.

Other round table participants include: Daniel Hynes, Senior Vice President at Ariel Investments, LLC; Mary MacLaren, Executive Director of the Executives’ Club of Chicago and Saint Xavier University trustee; Ryan McLaughlin, President of Mac Strategies Group, a strategic communications and public affairs firm; and Sr. Susan Sanders, R.S.M., Vice President for Administration and Planning at Saint Xavier University.

Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007, and is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history. He represented Illinois's 14th congressional district as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007. During his tenure as Speaker, Hastert focused his efforts on lowering taxes, improving education, strengthening Social Security and Medicare and bolstering national defense. In response to the tragic attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, he was instrumental in passing legislation to create the Department of Homeland Security. Since retiring in November 2007, Hastert has worked on various projects in the areas of education, transportation and energy.  He is a member of the board of Advance Illinois and on the board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The Sweeney Family Lecture is sponsored by SXU's Center for Religion and Public Discourse, and funded by a gift from the John and Barbara Sweeney Family.