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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Senator John W. Maitland, Jr. was born in Normal, 
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Ill., on July 29, 1936, to John and Elsa Maitland; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Senator Maitland is a graduate of Normal Community 
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High School and Illinois State University and served in the 
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United States Marine Corps; and Senator Maitland married his 
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wife, Joanna Sieg, and together they have three children, Jody 
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Ann, Johnny, and Jay, and six grandchildren; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Senator Maitland, a resident of Bloomington, 
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served in the Illinois State Senate from 1979 until he resigned 
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in April 2002 because of health reasons; and
 
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    WHEREAS, During those 23 years, he earned the respect of 
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his colleagues, both Republicans and  Democrats, because he 
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demonstrated the rare ability to get things done; when he rose 
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to speak in the Senate, people recognized his command of the 
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issues - especially agriculture and education; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Senator Maitland is a nationally recognized 
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expert on agriculture issues and has first-hand knowledge of 
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the needs of farmers; he has spent long hours in the fields 
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raising grain; he was president of the local county Farm 
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Bureau; he has studied agriculture and conservation issues in 
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other states; his expertise was the driving force behind the 
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long-sought compromise, forged in 1999, for the regulation of 
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large livestock production facilities in Illinois; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Senator Maitland is a strong advocate and tireless 
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champion of a quality education, having served in leadership 
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roles on committees and commissions that analyzed and set 
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education policy affecting Illinois students across the State; 
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he had a leadership role in every major effort to improve 
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education in the last two decades, including the Illinois 
 


 






SJ0083
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Educational Reform Act of 1985, the Illinois Task Force on 
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School Finance in 1993, and the Governor' Commission on 
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Education Funding in 1996; Senator Maitland has been 
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particularly outspoken about the need for funding equity; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Senator Maitland's membership on committees, his 
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work with organizations and his honors - local, State and 
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national - are too numerous to list; he is  held in the highest 
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esteem by his colleagues from both parties; for 23 years, he  
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was the senator from central Illinois, but his legacy of 
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excellence and commitment to the greater good has made Illinois 
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a better place for all its citizens; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Illinois Route 9 runs through Senator Maitland's 
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hometown, Bloomington; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
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CONCURRING HEREIN, that the portion of Illinois Route 9 
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commencing at the east boundary of Bloomington and ending at 
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the west boundary of Danvers, Ill. be designated the John W. 
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Maitland, Jr. Highway; and be it further 

 
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    RESOLVED, That the Department of Transportation is 
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requested to erect appropriate plaques or signs giving notice 
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to the John W. Maitland, Jr. Highway; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
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presented to the Illinois Secretary of Transportation and to 
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Senator John W. Maitland, Jr.