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December 14, 2022
Media Advisory: SIU experts can discuss Jan. 6 committee report
CARBONDALE, Ill. – With the U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol expected to release its final report next week, Southern Illinois University Carbondale experts can discuss the historical significance and impact the hearings have had on the nation, American politics and the legal system.
These experts – from the School of Justice and Public Safety, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute and SIU School of Law – with contact information, include:
Christopher Mullins, professor of criminology and criminal justice, specializes in political violence. He can discuss historical and contemporary U.S. extremist violence and extremist groups. He can be reached at mullinsc@siu.edu or 618-559-5289 and is available for interviews, on camera, by telephone or Zoom.
“While it will be an essential historical record for the nation, I am not sure it will change any minds,” Mullins said. “I am very interested to see the security and intelligence recommendations, as those might have a chance of being implemented.”
John Jackson, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute visiting professor, has more than four decades of political expertise and research in politics, campaigns and elections. He can be reached at 618-303-1240 or jsjacson@siu.edu
“It is unprecedented in American history for a former president and his followers to refuse to accept the clear results of the election,” Jackson said. “It was imperative for the committee to hold these hearings in order to consider steps to take to prevent it from happening again and to show the American people what happened and who was responsible.”
John T. Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, spent 26 years in Washington, D.C., covering Congress and economic issues for Market News International before his arrival at SIU Carbondale in 2018. He has been a guest on the PBS NewsHour and C-SPAN. He can be reached at 618-453-4009 or shaw@siu.edu.
“The Jan. 6 committee has generated important and compelling information about the insurrection that sent shockwaves around the United States and the world,” Shaw said. “The visual images that it has already released have been startling. The final report will be a critical attempt to assemble a clear and coherent narrative about the fateful day.”
Sheila Simon, assistant professor in the SIU School of Law, returned to the university after serving as Illinois’ lieutenant governor from 2011 to 2015. She has taught classes on government ethics. Prior to her work at the law school, she was an assistant state’s attorney in Jackson County. She can be reached at ssimon@siu.edu or 618-967-2062 and is available to talk by telephone or Zoom.
“In an era where truth is devalued, a bipartisan effort to get accurate facts is an important foundation for all of us,” Simon said.