SR1386 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1386 LRB102 30215 ECR 42594 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate of the 102nd General Assembly of the State of Illinois learned with great sadness of the death of their colleague and friend, Senator Scott Michael Bennett, on December 9, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett was born on July 16, 1977 to Dr. Robert and Barbara Bennett in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where his father was stationed in the U.S. Army; when he was an infant, the family moved to Gibson City, where five generations of his family have worked on their family farm, which is something he cherished; he graduated from Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School in 1995 and then studied History at Illinois State University, graduating in 1998; he then attended law school at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, graduating in 2002; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett joined the Senate in 2015 as the unanimous choice to fill the vacancy created when Michael W. Frerichs was sworn in as the Illinois State Treasurer after serving the 52nd District for eight years; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett dedicated his life to public service and giving back to his community; he first earned an internship at the White House, where he served the Clinton Administration in the Office of Presidential Gifts and met his wife, Stacy Meredith, who had been assigned to the same office; they entertained one another with imagined back stories of curious global and domestic gifts; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett started his career as a prosecutor for the City of Chicago and also worked for the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS, Though Sen. Bennett could have pursued a high-paying career in corporate law, he longed to return to his roots and the community he treasured; he returned to central Illinois to work as an assistant state's attorney in Bloomington-Normal and then in Champaign-Urbana; and

WHEREAS, The first piece of legislation Sen. Bennett filed was to protect central Illinois' water supply by preserving the quality of drinking water in the Mahomet Aquifer, which serves as the primary water supply for 15 counties across central Illinois, including Champaign and Vermilion counties; he believed that the aquifer served as a lifeline for the region and made it his mission to protect this important resource for the sake of the region's children and future generations to come; he continuously worked with a bipartisan coalition of legislators to add safeguards to protect this valuable resource; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett leaned on his experience in the courtroom to champion legislation to permit courts to allow comfort canines in courtrooms to assist children or people with intellectual disabilities who have to testify in court on sexual assault cases; he believed that the use of dogs in the courtroom can help bring a major change in how we can meet the emotional needs of those involved in the criminal justice system; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett partnered with Treasurer Frerichs to establish the Illinois Achieving Better Life Expectancy Act, known as the ABLE Act, to promote financial security for children and loved ones living with disabilities; the goal of the program is to assist individuals and families in saving money to cover expenses for people with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, During the budget impasse in 2015, Sen. Bennett and his family filed paperwork to forgo his pay until there was a budget in place to protect essential programs in Illinois; the Bennett family stood in solidarity with the hard working men and women in their community who provided essential services to our most vulnerable populations, and they believed it was unjust for elected officials to continue to take home their pay while in-home child care providers struggled to keep their doors open and seniors were forced to choose between picking up their prescriptions or keeping their lights on at night; he did not accept a paycheck for more than six months; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett fought to provide Illinois' students with the opportunity to be successful as the chair of the Senate's Higher Education Committee for the last two years; he worked to secure resources for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Parkland College, Danville Community College, and all of the State's higher education facilities by advocating for additional funding for need-based tuition assistance, lowering tuition costs and fees, and preventing licensing boards from denying and revoking or suspending individual professional licenses due to student loan default in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett introduced the Know Before You Owe Private Education Loan Act, which requires private lenders to confirm with a potential borrower's school that the student's tuition, housing, and other costs are not covered by other sources of financial aid to ensure students and their families have clear information when weighing their loan options; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked to combat campus sexual violence and championed the Preventing Sexual Violence on Campus Act, which provided a road map to existing federal requirements and set standards to prevent and respond to sexual violence; his goal was to end campus assault, but if an assault occurred, he wanted to ensure that there were clear and concise guidelines to give survivors of sexual assault a comprehensive path to report crimes and be notified of their rights; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked to increase civic participation and engage more citizens in the democratic process by supporting automatic voter registration and routine voter registration drives; he also worked to encourage more young people to be involved in government through mentorship and internship opportunities for college and high school students, through regular visits to local schools to educate students on different methods to voice their concerns and provide input on the vital matters that impact our communities, and by always being willing to have candid conversations with college clubs and groups or young people who contacted his office; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett's love for his family farm shined through the active role he played as the chair of the Agriculture Committee for two years; he even sought a commercial driver's license so he could haul grain in a semi-truck to the area grain elevator from his family's centennial farm during harvest; he could be found returning calls, participating in weekly team meeting calls, negotiating legislation, and much more in the name of service to the constituents of the 52nd District while waiting for the truck to be loaded; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett recognized the stressors placed on farmers and farm families and partnered with SIU School of Medicine's Center for Rural Health and Social Services Development and the Illinois Department of Agriculture to introduce a hotline to connect farmers to health professionals and services for additional support through the Farm Family Resource Initiative; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett partnered with former Illinois Department of Agriculture Director John Sullivan to address the issue of farm chemical runoff polluting Illinois waterways because he believed the State needed to make significant water quality improvement to protect our quality of life for generations to come; and

WHEREAS, To help alleviate the shortage of agriculture science educators, Sen. Bennett championed an initiative to create a hands-on agriculture teacher training program in Illinois high schools for those interested in studying to teach agriculture; he believed that creating a pre-service teacher training program to give prospective agriculture students the fundamentals they need to succeed will help to ensure that the next generation of family farmers will keep the industry strong for years to come; he later received the Jim Guilinger Legislative Award from the Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education for his support of agricultural education and Future Farmers of America student programs; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett's experience in the courtroom gave the Senate a unique and cherished perspective that he utilized as the chair of the Criminal Law Committee for two years; he emphasized the importance he placed on providing minors who experienced the most egregious crimes against them with the tools to seek justice when they are ready by removing the statute of limitations for certain sex crimes against minors; he believed that survivors of these horrific crimes should not be forced to seek justice before they are ready to do so; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked with State agencies and local leaders to acquire a Child's Advocacy Center in Vermilion County to provide minors with a comforting, kid-friendly environment; prior to that, Vermilion County had been one of only four counties in the State that did not have one; he valued the opportunity to serve as the vice-president of the board of directors for the facility; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett believed in the spirit of bipartisanship and worked on legislation with his uncle, State Representative Tom Bennett, to ensure that materials on SIDS prevention provided to parents include information from the American Academy of Pediatrics or a statewide or nationally recognized SIDS or medical association; he made it his goal to find at least one piece of legislation that he could work on with Rep. Bennett every General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett never forgot the importance of our nation's veterans and worked with now retired State Representative Chad Hays to rededicate a lost grave marker that was discovered to belong to Clyde E. Maham, a World War I veteran who was buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Rantoul; he believed that whether a veteran's sacrifices were made during World War I or are currently being made across the globe, it is important to honor the dedication and sacrifices the veterans have made to our great nation; and

WHEREAS, To support women in Illinois, Sen. Bennett voted to institute a federal constitutional provision that expressly guarantees equal rights to women and men by championing Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 4, which would have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the United States Constitution; he believed ratifying the ERA is not merely symbolic or only a woman's issue and that it is a necessary measure for Illinois to take to guarantee equality under the law for both men and women; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett believed in protecting women's reproductive health care and bodily autonomy since these are the most basic and fundamental human rights; he supported a number of measures to ensure Illinois has laws on the books to protect the health and well-being of women in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked diligently to prevent groundwater contaminated at Illinois coal ash dump sites by championing a bipartisan initiative with area legislators; he believed that Illinois cannot afford to stand by while toxic waste threatens our State's valuable water resources indefinitely; during the passage of the legislation, he coined the term Team Coal Ash to commemorate the friendships formed during the tough negotiations and distributed coal stress balls to the team after the bill's passage; he later received the Illinois Environmental Councils' Milestone Achievement Award and the Prairie Rivers Network's Outstanding Public Servant Award for his efforts in passing historic coal ash regulations into law that year; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked with his colleagues to provide Illinois workers with a living wage; he believed that employees deserve a fair wage that respects the work they do in the service to our community and that Illinois' hardest workers should be compensated with a wage that allows them to live their lives with dignity, fairness, and stability; and

WHEREAS, After years of work, Sen. Bennett was able to secure a Danville casino to help spur growth in the region and create good-paying jobs for Vermilion County residents; he was looking forward to the ribbon cutting of the casino and witnessing the economic impact it would have on Danville; and

WHEREAS, During the unfortunate COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Bennett worked to keep constituents safe by educating people on the dangers of exposure, supporting and providing information about local food pantries and State resources available to assist, reading evening bedtime stories as a celebrity reader, assisting constituents in securing unemployment benefits, distributing personal protective equipment to first responders, supporting local business owners, and encouraging residents to wear masks and get vaccinated once they were made available; and

WHEREAS, To improve transparency around prescription drug costs, Sen. Bennett pushed a bill requiring pharmacies to post a notice informing consumers that they may request current pharmacy retail prices at the point of sale to ensure that the drug industry is held accountable and that residents receive the pricing information they deserve to make informed decisions; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked diligently to support downstate schools across central Illinois by ensuring that there was a bipartisan funding formula in place that supported all of our State's children; he helped institute a funding formula that guarantees that the quality of a child's education will not be based on their ZIP code and funds schools the right way to help lower property tax bills; and

WHEREAS, To raise awareness and help improve mental health among young adults and middle school students, Sen. Bennett sponsored legislation that requires school districts to provide contact information for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Crisis Text Line on student identification cards to ensure this resource is available to help students who may be struggling; he believed printing this information on student ID cards meant the hotline number is always close at hand and, more importantly, can be used as a lifeline for children and their families; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked with law enforcement and his colleagues in the House and Senate to pass legislation to improve the criminal justice system by passing a package of bills that were aimed at keeping law enforcement officials safe by creating grant opportunities and instituting ways to recruit, hire, and retain the best of our law enforcement officers to keep communities safe; and

WHEREAS, Most recently, Sen. Bennett served as a central figure in recent SAFE-T Act changes; he understood the importance of presuming innocence for individuals before being proven guilty, supporting police, and keeping violent criminals out of our neighborhoods; his goal remained to ensure that the Illinois' pretrial system is equitable and that everyone is treated equally regardless of their financial status; he believed it was pertinent to bring together a diverse group of individuals to create a comprehensive plan that maintains the intent of the Pretrial Fairness Act while ensuring our court systems have the tools they need to serve their communities; he was proud of the efforts to improve the consistency within the law; and

WHEREAS, During his time in office, Sen. Bennett appreciated the honor of participating in the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony at Danville National Cemetery because he believed in the importance of the community coming together to celebrate the lives of our fallen soldiers; at this year's ceremony and going forward, the organization pledged to lay a wreath to memorialize him, and he is the only non-veteran to receive this great honor; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett secured over $25.9 million for cities and municipalities in his district to upgrade community parks, restore historical landmarks, improve local roads, and create accessibility to buildings; he consistently advocated for all of his district, including securing over 60 projects for schools, foundations, cities, not-for-profits, parks, libraries, and many others; and

WHEREAS, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the State's flagship university, is located in what was Sen. Bennett's district; while in office, he secured more than $50 million in additional spending for the University of Illinois, including an additional $500 million for the Discovery Partners Institute, which is an economic incubator for the State; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett served on a number of boards and task forces, including the Mahomet Aquifer Task Force, the Illinois Supreme Court's Pretrial Practices Commission, Governor JB Pritzker's Growing Our Agricultural Economy Committee, the Access to Voting for Persons with Disabilities Advisory Task Force, the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding, the Midwestern Higher Education Commission, and the State Procurement Task Force; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett hosted a number of annual collection drives to benefit the Vermilion County community; one such event was his community dictionary drive to benefit Danville Area Community College's Department of Corrections program, which rehabilitates incarcerated men participating in prison-based education programs; he also hosted warm sock drives to boost supplies at local shelters during the cold winter months; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett was always ready to help and support community organizations and address shortages and constituent needs; he hosted blood drives and collected canned foods to help food pantries, cell phones to help survivors of domestic violence and to help military personnel, cards for seniors and veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic, winter hygiene product drives for local soup kitchens, and donations for Ukrainian families in Westville, among other needs; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett loved when school groups, interns, or constituents would stop by his office in Springfield; he cherished the opportunity to provide visitors with an in-depth tour of the State Capitol, whose deep history he loved; those fortunate enough to receive this tour would often learn new historical facts and tidbits and hear his latest stories; and

WHEREAS, As a former staff member himself, Sen. Bennett was often found at the back of the Senate chamber taking the time to get to know staff members and sharing funny anecdotes; he always valued the time and energy staff put into their work and treated his staff as family; he would make a special effort to look for ways to show his appreciation; he was beloved by staff and will be greatly missed by them; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett hosted summer book club programs for children in the community, had a steady rotation of college and high school interns, and regularly visited area schools and college classes to engage more students in the State's legislative process because he genuinely believed that the State's children could become great leaders in our State and nation; he adored hearing from or about former interns and staff members who achieved their career and education goals; and

WHEREAS, During his tenure as a legislator, Sen. Bennett partnered with area organizations to sponsor expungement and record-sealing summits to provide full-service assistance to Champaign residents with application, preparation, and filing for adult and juvenile criminal record expungement and sealing along with other relief because he wanted to give people the opportunity to be successful; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett was a fierce advocate and was well known by all for his humor and wit, which was an innate talent he used as a tool to heal and unite by putting his audience at ease and creating space for connection; he treasured relationships, from his constituents and colleagues to his family and friends, and all knew that no matter the relationship he genuinely cared; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett's absence has left a big Scott Bennett-sized hole in our hearts forever; we can honor him by taking the time to find common ground, being kind to our neighbors, and doing our best to leave the world a brighter and more compassionate place; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett prioritized service above self and deeply cared for the 52nd State Senate District; however, his greatest love was for his family, his wife of 20 years, Stacy, and his children, Sam and Emma, who served as his rock and heart in every action he took; he would often forgo staying in Springfield after long session days to go home and be near his family; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Stacy Bennett, who honored Sen. Bennett's legacy by completing the remainder of his term in the 102nd General Assembly, served as his sounding board, his political strategist, and the love of his life; she helped him stay grounded and provided him with support to help him better represent the diverse needs of the residents of the 52nd District; 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 Senator Scott Bennett, our friend and colleague, who served the people of the State of Illinois with honor and distinction and exemplified the highest standards; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Sen. Bennett as an expression of our sincerest condolences for the loss of their loved one and our friend.