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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois 
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learned with regret of the death of Steve Neal on Wednesday, 
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February 18, 2004; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Neal was born in Coos Bay, Oregon, to Ernest 
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and Ellen Neal; he graduated from the University of Oregon in 
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1971 and received a master's degree from Columbia University in 
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New York; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Neal began his journalism career at the Oregon 
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Journal in 1971 and moved a year later to the Philadelphia 
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Inquirer, where he worked until joining the Chicago Tribune in 
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1979;

he was a Washington-based correspondent for the Tribune 
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for two years, then the paper's White House correspondent from 
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1981 to 1983; in 1984 he was named political writer for the 
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Tribune; in 1987 he moved to the Sun-Times, where he was a 
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political columnist; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Neal authored and co-authored several books, 
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including a biography on Wendell Willkie and historical 
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perspectives on Harry S. Truman and Truman's relationship with 
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his successor, Dwight D. Eisenhower;

last fall, he published 
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two books, "HST: Memories of the Truman Years" and "Miracle of 
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'48: Harry Truman's Major Campaign Speeches and Selected 
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Whistle-stops"; in a book published a year earlier, Mr. Neal 
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edited a collection of correspondence between Eleanor 
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Roosevelt and Truman that he discovered while researching an 
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earlier book;

in 1999 Southern Illinois University Press issued 
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a collection of 97 of his columns called "Rolling on the 
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River"; his latest book, "Happy Days are Here Again" was about 
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to be published; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Neal was a sports fan, an Elvis fan, and loved 
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history; his political knowledge was unrivaled; he was known to 
 


 






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be one of the hardest working journalists in the Chicago 
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political scene in the past two decades and was renowned for 
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his institutional knowledge and strong sense of history; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The passing of Mr. Neal has been deeply felt by 
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many, especially his wife, Susan; his daughters, Erin and 
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Shannon; his parents, Ernest and Ellen Neal; his brothers, Dan 
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and Gary Neal; and his in-laws, Bland and Beverly Simmons; 
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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, that we mourn the passing of 
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Steve Neal, one of the most outstanding political journalists 
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of his time, and we extend our deepest sympathy to his friends, 
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family, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of Steve Neal as an expression of our 
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sincere condolences.