SR1078 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1078 LRB102 28139 LAW 39946 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Judge Ramón Manuel Escapa of Rushville, who passed away on June 19, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Judge Escapa was born to Angel Luis Escapa Matos and Maria Aponte in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico on December 24, 1979; he was raised in Schuyler County; he graduated from Rushville High School in 1998; he married Michelle Ann Thomas at the Schuyler County Courthouse in Rushville on February 6, 2003; he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Western Illinois University in 2004; he earned his Juris Doctor from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2008; he was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2009; he served in the U.S. Army National Guard for 12 years and had currently been serving as an officer of the JAG Corps; and

WHEREAS, Judge Escapa previously served as a deputy for the Schuyler County Sheriff's Office and as a police officer for the Beardstown Police Department; he also formerly taught English as a Second Language in Beardstown; and

WHEREAS, Judge Escapa became a partner in the law firm of Lucie, Scalf, Escapa & Graham in Macomb in May 2009; and

WHEREAS, Judge Escapa was elected as state's attorney of Schuyler County in 2012; he was twice reelected before he was appointed to circuit judge in 2020; he was currently serving as a judge in the Eighth Judicial Circuit at the time of his passing; and

WHEREAS, Judge Escapa was a member of the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Rushville; he was also a member of Ride Illinois, the Schuyler County 22 Club, the Knights of Columbus, Rushville Masonic Lodge #9, the Illinois Bar Association, and the Illinois Latino Judges Association; and

WHEREAS, Judge Escapa was preceded in death by his father; his paternal grandfather, Luis Escapa Negron; his maternal grandmother, Cecilia Oritz Braceti; and his maternal grandfather, Ramón Aponte Betancourt; and

WHEREAS, Judge Escapa is survived by his wife of almost 20 years, Michelle; his mother; his paternal grandmother, Isabel Matos Escapa; his children, Isaac Manuel Escapa, Isaiah Ramón Escapa, Isabel Marie Escapa, and Ian Luis Escapa; his brother, Luis Escapa; his half sisters, Angely Escapa and Valery Pratt; his half brothers, Christian Escapa and Jacob Clayton; his stepbrother, Kyle Clayton; his special aunt, Luisabel Escapa; and his numerous other aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Judge Ramón Manuel Escapa 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 Judge Escapa as an expression of our deepest sympathy.