By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com

Chicagoland attorney Jim Fessler is an expert at networking, particularly with fellow University of Illinois alumni and fans.

He says that something as simple as choosing your wardrobe is a key to starting a conversation with a new acquaintance or maybe even a prospective employer.

"Wear an orange and blue tie (or scarf for ladies)," he says. "People will say 'I-L-L'. It happens all the time. It allows us to tell others about who we are and what we care about."

It's easy to identify who Jim Fessler is. He's a proud Illinois alumnus and an ardent supporter of all things Illini.

He distinctly remembers the first Illini football game he ever attended. It was September 19, 1970, and he was seven years old. Coach Jim Valek's football team was hosting the Oregon Ducks, quarterbacked by Dan Fouts, a game won by Illinois, 20-16.

A 1980s portrait of the Fessler family, including (left to right) Kermit, Patricia, Jim and Barbara

A tailgating scene before seven-year-old Jim's very first Illini game in 1970 (second from left)

"I remember walking into Memorial Stadium and being a wide-eyed little kid," Fessler said. "The Marching Illini, the cheerleaders, and the football game. I don't want to say it was life-changing, but it was one of those things that really opened my eyes and got me excited."

His parents, Kermit and Patricia Fessler of Palos Heights, both received advanced degrees from Illinois and attended at least a couple of games a year in Champaign. Jim's dad played and coached football, and even served as a referee for a while. As an administrator in school district 218, Kermit became acquainted and eventually developed a relationship with Pete Elliott when the former Illini coach recruited at Blue Island Eisenhower High School.

At age 13, it was discovered that Jim had medical issues with his heart. Five years earlier, the Fessler's had lost an older son, Peter, to a brain tumor, so, understandably, they were overly protective of Jim and his sister, Barbara.

"I remember my father saying to me, 'If you listen to the doctors and do what they say, I'll do anything you want me to do within reason. I told him 'I want season tickets to the Illini football games.'"

From 1976 until 2007, the Fessler family invested in Illini football tickets, always tailgating before the games with friends Jim and Nancy Bronson.

"We called our group 'Twobits'-- The Original Orange and Blue Illini Tailgaters," Jim recalled. "It was big, fun, family thing that we all looked forward to."

The 2007 season was especially gratifying for the Fessler family when Jim's stepson, Ryan Baise, served as a back-up quarterback on Illinois' '08 Rose Bowl squad.

The College Experience

Upon graduating from Carl Sandburg High School in 1981, there was no doubt where Jim was going to continue his education. He studied speech communications at the U of I and became a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house on Armory Street.

"Those guys are my best friends to this day," he said. "Now, we're scattered all over the country, from Mahomet to San Francisco, Syracuse, Detroit, New York and Minneapolis. Even when we haven't seen each other for several years, everything's normal."

But as much as he loved his fraternity brothers, Fessler knew that it was important for him to branch out and meet other students. He joined Illini Pride and Block I, and served on committees for Interfraternity Council and Big Brothers-Big Sisters.

He also was a member of Vice Chancellor Stan Levy's student advisory committee and has since continued his service as a board member for Pat Askew, Renee Romano and current Vice Chancellor Danita Brown Young.

"I learned as much outside of the classroom as I did inside the classroom," Fessler said. "It helped me learn what's really important in life."

He attended law school at Hamline University School of Law in Minneapolis/St. Paul and at the John Marshall Law School, graduating in the top 10 percent of his class. Fessler landed a job with Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court Thomas Moran and clerked for Justice Moran for two years. Since then, he has served with a series of law firms and companies. In October, Fessler began working for SPEC Engineering in Plainfield where he serves as senior counsel and advisor to the president.

All the while, he's supported the university and the athletic program. Among the positions for which Fessler has volunteered are the Chicago Illini Club, the Campus Alumni Advisory Board, the Alumni Association Board and the University of Illinois Foundation (UIF). In 1998, at the age of 35, he won the William E. Winter Award from the Foundation for Outstanding Advocacy Leadership.

Leaving a Family Legacy

When Jim's dad passed away in 2015, his mother created the Fessler Family University Library Endowment Fund, allowing the library to purchase items to benefit its extensive sports collection. Just recently, Fessler contributed his father's sizable Illini ticket collection.

Three generations of Illini: (left to right) Ryan Baise, Kermit Fessler and Jim Fessler

Jim and Illini legend Dick Butkus

"This fund combines my parents' love of sports with my mother's love of libraries," Fessler said. "I'm now on the Board of Advocates for the library."

As a donor, Fessler is a member of UIF's Presidents Council and the I FUND.

"You've got to pay it forward," he says.

The 40-year Illini football season ticket holder also is a member of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Fan Council, offering honest, caring feedback to the committee.

Win or lose, you'll continue to see Jim Fessler at Illini events of all kinds.

"After all these years, I still love coming to campus," he said. "I get reinvigorated, I get refreshed. I think it's the whole college atmosphere. My dad would always say, 'There's something in the water down there.'"