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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 
4Zagel; and
 
5    WHEREAS, James Zagel was born and raised in Chicago; as a 
6child, he walked to Chicago Bears' games at Wrigley Field from 
7his family's apartment in Lakeview; and
 
8    WHEREAS, James Zagel received his Bachelor of Arts and his 
9Master of Arts from the
University of Chicago and his Juris 
10Doctor from
Harvard Law School; he played tennis while at the 
11University of Chicago, and in 2011, he was awarded the 
12school's Professional Achievement Award; and
 
13    WHEREAS, James Zagel began his legal career as an 
14assistant state's attorney in Cook County in 1965; he quickly 
15became the lead legal analyst and strategist for the office; 
16in June 1966,
he trained police officers and prosecutors on 
17the requirements of a new Supreme Court decision, Miranda v. 
18Arizona, and the next month, he was on the prosecution team for 
19People v.
Richard Speck, which put him at the forefront of 
20forensic science and psychology and the expanding role of 
21constitutional doctrine in criminal procedure, areas of law in 
22which he
continued to specialize throughout his career; and
 
 
 
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1    WHEREAS, James Zagel then served as assistant attorney 
2general for the State of Illinois; in 1977, he became the 
3executive director of the Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, 
4serving until 1979; from 1979 until 1980, he was the director 
5of the Illinois Department of Revenue; and
 
6    WHEREAS, James Zagel was selected by Governor Thompson to 
7be the director of the Department of Law Enforcement in 1980; 
8later, he was named the first director of the Department of  
9State Police  when Governor Thompson renamed the agency in 
101985; he served from 1980 to 1987 and led the agency
through a 
11period of modernization and reorganization; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Under James Zagel's leadership, the ISP became 
13the first state police agency accredited by the Commission on 
14Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) and 
15the Division of State Troopers was created; during this time, 
16the State agreed to assume the additional responsibility of 
17patrolling Chicago city expressways, and the ISP experienced 
18the largest hiring of state troopers with what were called 
19"expressway classes"; in just two months of patrolling the 
20Chicago expressways, state troopers were credited with 
21dramatically making the expressways safer for motorists; the 
22ISP also created a first of its kind missing children program, 
23the Illinois State Enforcement Agencies to Recover Children 
 
 
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1Unit (I-SEARCH), which was revolutionary in the development of 
2professionalizing law enforcement's response to missing 
3children, nearly 11 years before AMBER Alerts were created; 
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, James Zagel was a visionary who established the 
6Division of Forensic Services (DFS) and made the Illinois 
7State Police Crime Labs what they are today; at one time, DFS 
8was the third-largest system of crime laboratories in the 
9world, topped only by the FBI and Scotland Yard; the 
10toxicology laboratories were moved from the Department of 
11Public Health to the ISP, the Automated Fingerprint 
12Identification System (AFIS) was born, and I-SEARCH funds 
13secured electrophoresis equipment, which was ultimately the 
14creation of the DNA discipline within the ISP Crime Labs; 
15additionally, the ISP forensic laboratory system was the first 
16forensic system in the nation to be  accredited by the American 
17Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation 
18Board (ASCLD/LAB); and
 
  
19    WHEREAS, James Zagel was nominated by President Ronald 
20Reagan to a seat on the  U.S. District Court for the Northern 
21District of Illinois  and was commissioned on April 22, 1987; 
22and
  
 
23    WHEREAS, James Zagel was nominated by Chief Justice 
 
 
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1Roberts to serve on the United States Foreign Intelligence 
2Surveillance Court (FISC, also called the FISA Court), where 
3he served from 2008 until 2015; and
  
 
4    WHEREAS, James Zagel appeared in two motion pictures and 
5authored a fictional thriller; under the stage name J.S. 
6Block, he appeared as a judge in Music Box (1989) and returned 
7to the screen in Homicide, David Mamet's 1991 film; alongside 
8his academic writing and judicial opinions, he was an 
9accomplished storyteller; in his novel, Money to Burn (2002), 
10he  imagined a federal judge who plans a robbery of the Federal 
11Reserve Bank of Chicago; and
  
 
12    WHEREAS, James Zagel assumed senior status in October of 
132016; and
  
 
14    WHEREAS, James Zagel enjoyed jazz, tennis, films, 
15traveling, and spending time with his wife, Peggy; and
 
16    WHEREAS, James Zagel was a brilliant mind and jurist and 
17left behind an enduring culture of ethical, professional, and 
18intelligent enforcement of the law; and
 
19    WHEREAS, James Zagel is survived by his wife of 44 years, 
20Margaret "Peggy" Maxwell Zagel, and many beloved cousins and 
21dear friends; therefore, be it
  
 
 
 
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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE 
2HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
3we mourn the passing of James Zagel and extend our sincere 
4condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved 
5him; and be it further
  
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
7presented to  the family of  James Zagel as an expression of our 
8deepest sympathy.