HR0820 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0820 LRB093 21848 KEF 49807 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of Anthony Scariano on April 17, 2004; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Scariano was an attorney who previously served as a State Representative, assistant federal prosecutor, State racing board chairman, Illinois appellate court justice, and head of commissions aimed at improving the judiciary and nominating candidates; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Scariano was born January 12, 1918, on Chicago's North Side; he attended Lane Tech High School and graduated from Wells High School; after beginning college, he served as an intelligence officer in the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency, in northern Italy during World War II; and

WHEREAS, After the war, Mr. Scariano graduated from Georgetown University's law school; while attending school in Washington, he also worked as a guard at the Capitol and for United States Senator Scott Lucas (D-Illinois); and

WHEREAS, From 1949 to 1954, Mr. Scariano served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago, where he eventually became head of the civil division; in 1956, he was first elected to the Illinois House from the south suburbs; and

WHEREAS, During his tenure as a State lawmaker, which began in the mid-1950s, Mr. Scariano banded with a small group of independent Democrats who practiced what they called common-sense liberalism as they rebelled against the stifling political control of the day to push for government reform; demonstrating his stand against the political status quo, he was one of the architects of the State's first Open Meetings Act, aimed at providing the sunshine of public disclosure and input into the often-secretive closed-door meetings where government business was transacted; and

WHEREAS, In 1985, he was appointed to the State appellate court; he was then elected to a 10-year term on the court the next year; though he retired from the bench in 1996, he remained active in politics and an adamant supporter of selecting judges based on merit appointment rather than Illinois' system of an elected judiciary; in December 2002, Mr. Scariano was among a group of judges who urged then Governor George Ryan to push for dramatic reforms in the State's capital punishment system and urged Governor Ryan to grant clemency to those sentenced to death; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Scariano also was a founding member of the Sicilian American Cultural Association, of which he also served as president; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Anthony Scariano will be deeply felt by many, especially his wife of 61 years, Leah; his sons, Anthony and John; his two brothers, John and Joseph; his sister, Marie Makowski; and his two grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary Phyllis Scariano; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of Anthony Scariano along with all who knew and loved him and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and community; and be it further

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