IIT Chicago-Kent Professor Edward Kraus appointed to the HHS Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines

Edward Kraus, associate professor of clinical practice at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, has been appointed by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to serve on the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines. Professor Kraus' three-year term begins immediately and will end December 31, 2015. The nine-member commission, established by Title XXI of the Public Health Services Act, is charged with advising the HHS secretary on issues related to the implementation of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

Professor Kraus, a member of the IIT Chicago-Kent Law Offices faculty since 1999, teaches courses in disability law and consumer health benefits. Professor Kraus is the supervising attorney for the law school's Health and Disability Law Clinic. In his clinical practice, he represents individuals in a variety of civil matters, including vaccine injury claims, Social Security disability law, long-term disability benefits, and disability discrimination. Since 2007, Professor Kraus has focused part of his practice on representing and advocating for individuals with diabetes in various matters, including education, civil rights, criminal, and insurance matters.

Professor Kraus was part of a team of IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law faculty and students who played an integral role in securing passage of the Care of Students with Diabetes Act. The Illinois law, which took effect December 1, 2010, clarifies the rights and responsibilities of students, parents, schools and healthcare personnel related to students with diabetes who need assistance or care during the school day and at school-sponsored activities.

Prior to joining IIT Chicago-Kent, Professor Kraus was an attorney at the law firm of Plokin, Jacobs & Orlofsky Ltd., where he specialized in complex civil litigation and consumer class actions. He has also served as policy director for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, where he oversaw advocacy and policy efforts addressing social and economic justice issues in Chicago. As staff attorney for Legal Action of Wisconsin, he represented low-income clients in a variety of civil matters, including public benefits, special education and Medicaid.

Professor Kraus earned his bachelor's degree (Phi Beta Kappa) in English from the University of Michigan and his law degree (cum laude) from Georgetown University Law Center.

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution. The Law Offices at IIT Chicago-Kent is a teaching law firm with a dual mission: to provide high-quality clinical education to over 150 student interns and externs who enroll each semester; and to deliver outstanding legal services to its clients. A unique aspect of the Law Office's in-house clinical program is its fee-generating model in which experienced and highly competent lawyers deliver competitively priced legal services.

The Health & Disability Law Clinic in the Law Offices of IIT Chicago-Kent is part of the multidisciplinary IIT Center for Diabetes Research and Policy that engages in legal advocacy and representation to protect the rights of people with diabetes. The clinic works to fight discrimination and protect the rights of children and adults with diabetes throughout the state of Illinois. Faculty, attorneys and law students in the clinic provide free legal advice and representation in matters that often involve children with diabetes who face discrimination in schools.