During a career that has spanned more than 40 years, lobbyist Randy Witter has come to be known as the “go-to” guy under the Illinois Capitol dome, building a reputation for honesty and integrity among clients and lawmakers while helping shepherd along the next generation through his firm’s internship program.
Though he jokes about how his wife and colleagues younger than him have started to retire, Witter, 70, said the draw of helping people keeps him in the game.
“There have been days where I have left the Capitol and I think, ‘Wow, something that we just did and some law that we’ve been working on will truly make a difference in the lives of a lot of people in Illinois,’”
Witter said, pointing to examples like the initial Illinois Indoor Clean Air Act in the late-80s and clarifying what constitutes a service animal.
This desire to help others is reflected outside Witter’s professional life in the time he gives volunteering for a plethora of community organizations and by serving in various capacities at his alma mater, the University of Illinois Springfield.
Witter’s community service includes several roles with the University of Illinois system, including representing UIS on the U of I Alumni Alliance from 2015 to 2019 and chairing the UIS Campus Alumni Advisory Board.
He uses his background as a lobbyist to help with advocacy efforts, most recently participating in U of I’s trip to Washington, D.C.
UIS Chancellor Susan Koch said she “wholeheartedly support[s]” Witter’s First Citizen nomination, noting that Witter has always answered the call, whether it is a request for help from university administration or “a simple call from a student organization to be a guest speaker.”
“As Chancellor, I could not ask for a better community-minded partner to help grow the university’s relationships with the Springfield community,” Koch said.
This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on October 20, 2019.
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