by John McCormick
David Axelrod is known for many things in local and national politics: ad guru, wordsmith and hard-nosed street fighter.
But the political strategist will be honored for work and commitment in another part of his life Friday evening in Chicago.
During a benefit dinner at the Field Museum, a group called Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) will recognize Axelrod for his longtime commitment to epilepsy research.
Axelrod’s daughter, Lauren, who is in her mid-20s, suffers from epilepsy and now lives in a Chicago facility for children and adults with development disabilities. She has been seizure free for years, but the brain damage she suffered is irreversible.
Three mothers, including Axelrod’s wife, Susan, formed CURE in 1998. Among the group’s activities is lobbying Congress for more funding to find a cure.
Axelrod has used his political connections over the years to help the group land top names at its annual fundraising dinner, including Bill and Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.
Each fundraiser also features a new video, produced and directed by Axelrod, in which mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters talk about loved ones who have suffered and, in some cases, died from epilepsy.
“There hasn’t been one time when I’ve filmed those things when I haven’t ended up in tears either during the shoot or in the edit,” Axelrod told the Tribune last year, “partly out of empathy for the person I’m interviewing and partly because I’ve lived through it, my family has lived through it.”
The dinner will happen as Axelrod’s highest-profile client, Sen. Barack Obama, is about to face four more primaries on Tuesday, in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.
During its 10th annual dinner, CURE will also honor another Obama ally, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), for his support of epilepsy research.