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1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | | WHEREAS, Fifty years ago, Bill Haine, a recent graduate |
3 | | from St. Louis University, enlisted in the United States Army |
4 | | and went to war in Vietnam, where he was a member of the 1st |
5 | | Cavalry Division Airmobile from 1967 until 1969; enlisting was |
6 | | the first step in a lifetime of distinguished public service |
7 | | that also includes a Bronze Star for combat services, election |
8 | | to the Madison County Board, 14 years as Madison County State's |
9 | | Attorney, and service in the Illinois Senate since 2002; and
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10 | | WHEREAS, In 2017, Senator Haine announced that this would |
11 | | be his final term in the Illinois Senate, where he has loyally |
12 | | represented the 56th Senate District, which includes the |
13 | | communities of Caseyville, East Alton, Edwardsville, Granite |
14 | | City, Wood River, and his beloved hometown of Alton; and
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15 | | WHEREAS, Senator Haine has battled multiple myeloma, a form |
16 | | of blood cancer, and treatments kept him away from the Capitol |
17 | | for most of the 2017 legislative session; however, he returned |
18 | | to cast the deciding votes on a balanced budget, which ended |
19 | | the state's two-year financial impasse, and the Senate's |
20 | | override of the governor's veto of a historic school funding |
21 | | overhaul; and
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22 | | WHEREAS, Senator Haine is a true historian, who often |
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1 | | sprinkles legislative debates with rhetorical lessons and |
2 | | anecdotes from the works of Roman emperors, a litany of popes |
3 | | spanning civilized history, and the founding fathers; he has |
4 | | long been an advocate for the genius of American democracy and |
5 | | for what James Madison described as the ordered liberty of the |
6 | | legislative process as a constitutional foil to the corrupting |
7 | | evils of demagoguery and mob rule; and
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8 | | WHEREAS, Senator Haine's tenure in Springfield has been |
9 | | marked by practical politics rather than political agendas; at |
10 | | times, his focus has been big; and
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11 | | WHEREAS, Senator Haine was the legislative architect of a |
12 | | sweeping plan to modernize the levee system in the Metro East |
13 | | region, an effort that has helped protect homes and businesses |
14 | | from flood damage in recent years; and
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15 | | WHEREAS, Senator Haine helped win state investment in |
16 | | maintaining and expanding the growing Edwardsville campus of |
17 | | Southern Illinois University and other key infrastructures, |
18 | | including I-255; and
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19 | | WHEREAS, Senator Haine worked to keep the Wood River |
20 | | Refinery expansion on track and similarly led successful |
21 | | efforts to approve a Constitutional Amendment protecting the |
22 | | State's Road Fund from being raided for |
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1 | | non-transportation-related spending; and
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2 | | WHEREAS, Senator Haine drew upon his distinguished, |
3 | | award-winning law enforcement background from his time as |
4 | | Madison County State's Attorney to sponsor, negotiate, and win |
5 | | approval of the state's medical marijuana law that balanced |
6 | | compassionate use with stringent standards and regulations; |
7 | | and
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8 | | WHEREAS, At the same time, Senator Haine kept an eye out |
9 | | for injustice at any level; in response to media reports of |
10 | | motorists being forced to pay outrageous fees to have towed |
11 | | vehicles released from impound lots, he sponsored and passed |
12 | | consumer protections limiting those charges and ending abuse; |
13 | | and
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14 | | WHEREAS, To protect jobs at the US Steel plant in Granite |
15 | | City, Senator Haine rallied the Illinois Senate to protest |
16 | | China's dumping of low quality, cheap steel into the U.S. |
17 | | market; and
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18 | | WHEREAS, Despite Senator Haine's many awards and |
19 | | accomplishments, he considers the crowning achievement of his |
20 | | life to be his marriage to his wife, Anna, whom he met in |
21 | | college, and the family they have built together; and
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1 | | WHEREAS, Senator Haine and Anna have seven children, |
2 | | Cecilia, Elizabeth, Mary, Margaret, Alice, Thomas, and Joseph; |
3 | | at the time of this reading, they have 33 grandchildren, |
4 | | Alexander, Madeleine, Eleanor, Gabriel, Xavier, Leo, Helen, |
5 | | Emil, Karol, Mary, William, Margaret, Judith Anna, Rosaria, |
6 | | James, Stella, Faith, Edward, John, Peter, Agnes, Joseph, Jude, |
7 | | Mercea, Anna, Mary, James, Lucia, Peter, Cecilia, Anselm, |
8 | | Joseph, and Gabriel; they have one great-grandchild, Julian; |
9 | | and
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10 | | WHEREAS, Senator Haine's future plans include spending |
11 | | time with all of them; therefore, be it
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12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL |
13 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Senator Bill |
14 | | Haine for his dedicated service to the people of Illinois and |
15 | | honor him with this resolution; and be it further
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16 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
17 | | presented to Senator Haine as an expression of our esteem and |
18 | | respect, and we send our best wishes as he sets forth on his |
19 | | next adventure.
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