HR0039 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0039 LRB094 06818 HSS 36921 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois learned with regret of the death of Irving M. Friedman on Tuesday, December 21, 2004; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Friedman was the son of immigrants from Poland who were both garment workers in New York; he received a broad liberal arts education from the City College of New York and his law degree from New York University Law School in 1947; he married Abigail Levin; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Friedman moved to Chicago from New York to work for the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago; four years later, he went into law practice in 1953 with Harold A. Katz, who remained his law partner for half a century until Mr. Friedman's passing; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Friedman dedicated his enormous talents and energies to furthering the life and well being of the working people of Illinois; he devoted more than half a century to representing labor unions in manufacturing, in maritime and longshoring, in education, in broadcasting, in the airlines industry, and in government; he has been a frequent speaker to legal, labor, and government groups; he served as Chair of the Labor Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Friedman participated in some of the most important labor litigation in the country, including taking on organized crime and Outfit-connected union leaders; he triumphed also over white supremacists in Memphis who had sought to deny black workers their equal membership rights; he helped free segments of the American labor movement from the domination of communists; he fought for the rights of pregnant workers and on their behalf won one of the largest recoveries ever made in a case before the EEOC; his law practice was always devoted to protecting the rights of injured and disabled workers throughout Illinois; Mr. Friedman played a pivotal role in protecting the job rights of UAW workers in Caterpillar plants around Illinois and the nation in which successful litigation by the union played a critical role in the retention of the job rights of thousands of Illinois workers; and

WHEREAS, Remembered as a true gentleman who always represented his clients with the utmost class, Mr. Friedman had a great sense of fairness and warmth; he gave love to everyone he knew and never judged people by their income or profession or color; and he was always truly respected by many of the top management lawyers and law firms and government agencies who, even though they were his adversaries in the courtroom, held him in the highest professional regard and esteem; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Friedman was inducted into the Hall of Honor of the Illinois Labor History Society and was also a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers; he was a former Labor Member of the Board of Review of the Illinois Department of Labor, and he served as a member of the Governor's Commission on Labor that charted the path to the adoption in Illinois of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (IELRA) and the Illinois Labor Relations Act (ILRA); and

WHEREAS, The passing of Irving M. Friedman has been deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Abigail; his sons, Joey and Danny; his daughter-in-law, Roxanne; his sister, Helen Kaufman; and his three grandchildren, Jason, Sahara, and Max; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Irving M. Friedman, a man who will be remembered for his monumental contributions to the development of the public policy of Illinois into one that has favored collective bargaining, the rights of working people to organize and to enjoy the fruits of their labors, and to be protected from all forms of discrimination in employment; and we extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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