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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of James B.
4Burns, who passed away on December 10, 2020; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Jim Burns' legacy of honesty, fairness, and
6transparency leaves an indelible mark on the State of
7Illinois; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Jim Burns was appointed Secretary of State
9Inspector General by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White
10in April 2000 as the office had been under a cloud of
11controversy and corruption prior to White's election; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Jim Burns, upon taking office, expanded the size
13of the Inspector General's office, hiring professional
14investigators from a variety of law enforcement backgrounds;
15and
 
16    WHEREAS, Jim Burns successfully initiated legislation that
17made the position of Secretary of State Inspector General
18permanent and broadened its powers to find and remove
19corruption; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Jim Burns' successful legislation mandated that

 

 

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1the Secretary of State appoint, with the advice and consent of
2the Illinois Senate, a qualified Inspector General for the
3purpose of detection and deterrence and prevention of fraud,
4waste, mismanagement, and misconduct; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Jim Burns' legislative efforts provided the
6Inspector General's office with subpoena powers, strong
7whistleblower protections, audit authority, and protected
8positions for Inspector General staff; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Jim Burns implemented several
10corruption-combating initiatives, including an Audit Review
11Committee to provide a proactive element to evaluate all audit
12reports and improve systems and programs within the Secretary
13of State's office, a hotline and the website ReportItNow.net
14that allow the public or employees to file complaints, and an
15office-wide newsletter to communicate announcements with rank
16and file employees; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Jim Burns instituted a computer-based case
18management system to improve efficiency in day-to-day
19operations of the Secretary of State's office, as well as to
20provide law enforcement with a means of tracking suspicious
21conduct patterns; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Jim Burns worked to strengthen the relationship

 

 

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1between the Illinois Secretary of State's office and outside
2law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Attorney's offices;
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, Jim Burns made it his mission to visit Secretary
5of State Driver Services facilities statewide in an ongoing
6effort to foster a transparent and accessible relationship
7between the Inspector General's office and facility employees;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, Jim Burns worked tirelessly in his role as
10Inspector General to help restore integrity and eliminate all
11forms of institutionalized wrongdoing in the Illinois
12Secretary of State's office; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Jim Burns served as a strong, visible, and
14independent Inspector General for more than 20 years, which
15resulted in restoring the public trust and changing the
16culture of the Illinois Secretary of State's office; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Jim Burns was appointed by President Bill Clinton
18in 1993, at the recommendation of U.S. Senator Paul Simon, as
19U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, a post he
20held until 1997; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Jim Burns, as U.S. Attorney for the Northern

 

 

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1District of Illinois, managed an office of 250 staff members,
2including 130 federal prosecutors; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Jim Burns, as U.S. Attorney for the Northern
4District of Illinois, prosecuted violent street gangs, public
5corruption, international drug smugglers, organized crime,
6white-collar financial fraud, environmental and civil rights
7violations, government contract fraud, and health care and
8insurance fraud; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Jim Burns, prior to his appointment as U.S.
10Attorney for the Northern District, worked in private practice
11in Chicago, where he specialized in civil litigation,
12regulatory matters, sensitive investigations, and white-collar
13criminal defense; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Jim Burns was a fellow in the American College of
15Trial Lawyers; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Jim Burns served as an assistant U.S. Attorney
17from 1971 to 1978, during which time he tried dozens of cases
18as a federal prosecutor, eventually attaining the position of
19Chief of the Criminal Litigation Division; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Jim Burns played one year of professional
21basketball; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Jim Burns earned both his Bachelor of Arts in
2History in 1967 and his law degree in 1971 from Northwestern
3University; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Jim Burns was an All-American and Academic
5All-American basketball player; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Jim Burns was long active in the academic,
7athletic, and alumni affairs of Northwestern University and
8served on the Board of Trustees and the Visiting Committee of
9the School of Law; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Jim Burns received the Northwestern Alumni
11Association's Service Award and the Northwestern University's
12Law School Alumni Merit Award; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Jim Burns was selected in 1992 for the Silver
14Anniversary All-American Team by the National Association of
15Basketball Coaches, based on his outstanding basketball and
16career achievements; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Jim Burns led McLeansboro High School to fourth
18place in the state basketball tournament; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Jim Burns was born in Quincy and raised in

 

 

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1McLeansboro; he resided in Evanston for much of his adulthood
2and was a resident of Wilmette at the time of his death; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Jim Burns is survived by his beloved wife, Marty;
4his three children who filled him with pride, Camille,
5Heather, and Jim; and a grandson who he loved and adored,
6Jaany; therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
8HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
9we mourn the passing of Jim Burns and extend our sincere
10condolences to his family, his friends, his many coworkers,
11including Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, and all who
12knew and loved him; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to the family of Jim Burns as an expression of our
15deepest sympathy.