Clayton K. Harris, III, Esq.
Initiated in Iota Chapter in the summer of 2009, Clayton K. Harris, III is the Executive Director for the Illinois International Port District at the Port of Chicago. In his role, Clayton and the Illinois International Port District are committed to developing and maintaining a world-class port that operates as a modern, strategically driven facility and is focused on generating and expanding economic activity and employment for the benefit of the City of Chicago and State of Illinois.
Clayton was formerly the Director of Government Affairs for the Midwest United States with CH2M HILL, a global engineering design/build consulting firm with over 26,000 employees and on every continent.
After earning his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Technology and while working at the Pentagon in Combat Systems Engineering in the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Clayton decided to attend law school full time while continuing to work full time. As Clayton progressed he was able to transition work to the Federal Aviation Administration as an intern and then to the United States Department of Agriculture as an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Specialist. Once he graduated from Howard University’s School of Law he moved to Chicago to become a Cook County Assistant States’ Attorney.
Subsequent to ascending from Appeals, through traffic and narcotics to Special Prosecutions, Clayton was tapped by Mayor Richard M. Daley to help work his legislative agenda in Springfield. There, aptly so, he focused on crime, environment and labor. Clayton was tapped in 2006 to act as chief of staff for the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Based on this success Clayton was once again wooed to come work in a larger capacity, this time the Governor’s office called and placed him over all state infrastructure as the Deputy Chief of Staff where he oversaw and managed every capital agency in the state. While working in this capacity, Clayton stepped up during the state’s most dire time and ultimately Clayton assumed the role and responsibilities as Chief of Staff for the entire state of Illinois and for fifty-one kept the state afloat until the next Governor was transitioned into office.
In addition to the work that Clayton engages in professionally, academically he enjoys lecturing at the University of Chicago which he has done for the past seven years, where he teaches Process and Policy in State and local government specifically focusing on Illinois and Chicago in the school of Public Policy.