SR1349 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1349 LRB101 22142 LAW 73166 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Governor James "Big Jim" Thompson was born in Oak Park to J. Robert and Agnes Thompson on May 8, 1936; and

WHEREAS, Governor Thompson attended Samuel Morse Grade School, North Park Academy, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Northwestern University; he earned a juris doctorate from Northeastern University in 1959; and

WHEREAS, Governor Thompson married Jayne Carr, also of Oak Park, and they had a daughter, Samantha; and

WHEREAS, Governor Thompson was dedicated to public service and served as prosecutor in Cook County from 1959 to 1964; he then took a position as an associate professor at Northwestern University Law School and co-authored several textbooks; he accepted a position in the Illinois Attorney General's Office in 1969, serving as chief of the Department of Law Enforcement and Public Protection; he became a first assistant U.S. attorney in 1970; he was appointed a U.S. attorney in 1971, a position he used to address public corruption and voter fraud in Cook County; and

WHEREAS, Governor Thompson successfully ran on the Republican ticket for governor of Illinois in 1976 and was subsequently re-elected in 1978, 1982, and 1986, becoming the longest-serving governor in Illinois history, serving from 1977 to 1991; and

WHEREAS, Governor Thompson is credited for his tireless efforts to benefit the State of Illinois; he is particularly remembered for navigating the State through the economic malaise of the 1970s to the economic prosperity of the 1980s, retaining the Chicago White Sox in Illinois, creating the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, and constructing the Chicago office building, the James R. Thompson Center, that now bears his name; and

WHEREAS, After his retirement from public office, Governor Thompson joined the Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn and continued to serve the public on a number of boards and commissions, most notably the 9-11 Commission; and

WHEREAS, Governor Thompson passed away August 14, 2020, at the age of 84 at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago; his death elicited praise for and commemoration of his service to the State of Illinois from Republicans and Democrats alike; and

WHEREAS, Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, his family has chosen not to hold a public funeral or memorial service at this time; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare January 10, 2021 as Governor James "Big Jim" Thompson Day in the State of Illinois in recognition of the forty-fourth anniversary of his inauguration as governor and to recognize Governor Thompson's tireless leadership in the development and promotion of the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Jayne Thompson as a symbol of our respect and esteem.