HR0647 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0647 LRB102 26038 LAW 35471 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former Illinois State Senator and United States Congressman Harris W. Fawell of Naperville, who passed away on November 11, 2021; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell was born to Walter and Mildred Fawell in West Chicago on March 25, 1929; he graduated from West Chicago High School; baseball was a family passion; alongside his brothers, twin Tom, Bruce, and Mike, he played in the Fox Valley baseball league, organized by their father, where they competed with enough zeal to earn the reputation as "the fighting Fawells"; he attended North Central College, during which his baseball skills earned him a brief stint with a Detroit Tigers minor league affiliation in Greenville, South Carolina; he earned his Juris Doctor from Kent College of Law in 1952; in that same year, he married Ruth Johnson; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell served as an assistant state's attorney for DuPage County; he then practiced law, first in West Chicago and then in Naperville; he was senior partner of the law firm of Fawell, James and Brooks, which found its home in the historic Scott house on Washington Street in Naperville, where his son-in-law and grandson practice law today; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell served in the Illinois State Senate from 1963 to 1977; he was named Outstanding Freshman State Senator by the Illinois Press Association; during his time in the legislature, he sponsored legislation that provided park land for special needs children and adults throughout the State; he also created legislation that would have provided that developers donate park land to communities which, while defeated, led to the Naperville Land Cash Donation Ordinance; he also spearheaded the ordinance, resulting in the acquisition of acres of park land in Naperville; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1985, where he served until 1999; he co-founded the Porkbusters Coalition, a bipartisan group of representatives and senators that set its sight on fiscal bloat; he was the chief sponsor of 23 bills which eliminated $2 billion in pork barrel projects; he was also known for his expertise in labor and health issues and for his efforts to provide more equitable healthcare to workers in small businesses; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell, after leaving Congress, wrote articles on servant leadership that appeared in The International Journal of Servant Leadership published by Gonzaga University; his essays reflected his interest in labor relations, an interest which had deepened during his time on the Education and Labor Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives; he also served on the Board of Trustees of North Central College; and

WHEREAS, In retirement, Congressman Fawell relished summers at his vacation home on Beaver Island, Michigan, where he and his wife hosted and entertained his ever increasing family; he knew scores of old jazz standards by heart and had a taste for American doggerel and folk poetry; he had a deep and abiding interest in spiritual issues and literature and found a warm community in the Community United Methodist Church in Naperville in his later years; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell was described as an atypical politician with a self-effacing profile who served with a human touch; his family knew him as a wise, philosophical, patient, and empathetic man with a subtle, sometimes biting, sense of humor and a playful gift for language; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell is survived by his wife of 69 years, Ruth; his children, Richard (Yvonne), Jane (Robert Heap), and John (Yvette Begue); his eight grandchildren; his seven great-grandchildren; and his brother, Michael; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of former Illinois State Senator and United States Congressman Harris W. Fawell and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of former Congressman Fawell as an expression of our deepest sympathy.