SR0731

LRB093 23673 CSA 53684 r






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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Described as a visionary, C. Kevin McCabe, age 51 
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and a resident of Winfield, died Monday, October 11, 2004; and

 
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    WHEREAS, As a boy in his hometown in Springfield, he and 
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his friends would watch trains as they rolled through town, and 
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his passion for trains never ended; in his teens, he obtained 
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his pilot's license, which led him to a degree in aeronautical 
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and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois 
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in Urbana-Champaign in 1975; he worked for McDonnell Aircraft 
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Co. in St. Louis, where he was assigned to the F-4 and F-15 
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fighter programs and to the development of control systems and 
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simulators for NASA's Space Shuttle; he then became chief 
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aerodynamicist for Vetter Fairing Co. in Rantoul, where he 
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created methods for designing and manufacturing cost-effective 
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wind turbines for electric power generation; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1978, he followed in his father's footsteps and 
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became an attorney, joining    the law firm of Lord, Bissell & 
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Brook in Chicago, in their aviation division, then later in 
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their  transportation-related litigation division, which 
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covered both aviation and railroad defense; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He lived in Chicago until 1988, when he married 
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his wife, Linda (Bussmann) and they moved to Winfield; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Over the last 10 to 15 years, as a senior 
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associate of Lord, Bissell & Brook, he participated in the 
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representation of numerous freight and passenger railroads 
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that operated in the Chicago area, but his passion for the rail 
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system did not end when he left the office; as past president, 
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vice president and a member of the board of directors of the 
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Illinois Railway Museum, he has propelled the museum into a new 
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age as it has tried to preserve artifacts from another; and

 
 


 






SR0731
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LRB093 23673 CSA 53684 r




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    WHEREAS, In 1995, he orchestrated the move of a 
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975,000-pound iron locomotive parked outside Chicago's Museum 
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of Science and Industry since 1961 to the railway museum in 
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Union; in 1996, he was behind the recovery of railroad 
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equipment in the Chicago Tunnel System beneath Lake Shore Drive 
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and the acquisition of the only surviving locomotive once 
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operated by the legendary Casey Jones;  and

 
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    WHEREAS, An avid reader who would consume two or three 
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books a week, he had a home library with 7,000 books; he has 
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written four text books on computer programming, and his latest 
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book, "Steam Locomotive Fundamentals," a text on steam 
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locomotive history, design and operations, is in the process of 
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being published; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The passing of C. Kevin McCabe will be deeply felt 
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by many, especially his wife, Linda and his sister, Sheri Lou 
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Cantrall; 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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C. Kevin McCabe along with all who knew and loved him and 
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extend our sincerest condolences to his family and friends; and 
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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 C. Kevin McCabe as an expression of 
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our deepest sympathy.