HR0950 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0950 LRB098 20728 GRL 57682 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Illinois GOP mainstay Rich Williamson of Kenilworth, who passed away on December 8, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Rich Williamson was born on May 9, 1949 in Evanston to Marian and Donald Williamson; he attended New Trier High School and Princeton University, where he played varsity football, was senior class president, and graduated cum laude in 1971; he went on to receive his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1974, where he was executive editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law; during his time at Princeton, he met the love of his life, Jane Thatcher, on a plane as he was returning home from Princeton and she was returning home from Wellesley; it was love at first sight and they were married soon after; and

WHEREAS, Rich Williamson had a long and successful career that stretched from being a top foreign policy adviser to GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney to taking on Carol Moseley Braun; and

WHEREAS, Rich Williamson served 3 presidents in high-level positions, serving as Assistant Secretary of State for International Affairs, Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs, Ambassador to the U.N. for Special Political Affairs, and Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, as well as several other posts at the United Nations; and

WHEREAS, Rich Williamson tried his hand at electoral politics and ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992; he later served as Republican National Committeeman for Illinois and chaired the Illinois Republican Party from 1999 to 2001; in 2007, former President George W. Bush tapped him to be a special envoy for Sudan to help stop killing in the Darfur region; at the time of his passing, he was working with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on the prevention of future genocides; and

WHEREAS, Rich Williamson also worked as a partner at the law firms of Winston & Strawn and Mayer Brown, taught foreign policy at Northwestern University, and wrote books on foreign policy; he authored 8 books, edited 3, and wrote more than 175 articles in professional and popular periodicals; and

WHEREAS, Rich Williamson was known to not carry much on his travel, but he always had 10 pounds of books and a yellow legal pad that he preferred to a laptop; he lived in a home filled with thousands of books and mementos of his travels, including baskets, sculptures, and masks produced by refugees, and photos of his family in Dubai, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Croatia; and

WHEREAS, Rich Williamson will be sorely missed by his family and by the people he served; he has left a lasting legacy, not only on Illinois and the United States, but on the world as well; and

WHEREAS, Rich Williamson is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Jane Thatcher; his children, Elisabeth (Ryan) Graham, Craig Salisbury, and Richard (Sara) Middleton; his granddaughter, Cora Jane; his brother, Bruce (Alice); his sister, Barb (Erv); and his 10 nieces and nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family, friends, and the citizens of Illinois, the passing of Rich Williamson; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Rich Williamson as a symbol of our deepest sympathy and respect.