HR1296 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1296 LRB094 20501 HSS 58781 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois learned with sadness of the death of DuPage County Board Vice Chair, John Noel of Glen Ellyn, on Friday, April 28, 2006; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Noel was serving his second term as a Board Member for DuPage County, and had been Vice Chair of the DuPage County Board since 2005; he was first elected to office in 2000 and had served as Chairman of the Public Transit Committee and the Community Development Commission and had been a member of the Finance, Stormwater, Technology, and Transportation Committees; he was considered a regional leader and consensus builder on the issues of expanding public transportation; in 2005, he was recognized as the Intergovernmental Leader of the Year by the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference; and

WHEREAS, He is remembered as an excellent public servant, both thoughtful in his decision-making and progressive in his ideas; he had the respect of his peers because he was known as a strong, yet calm and caring voice on the Board; he worked to be a listener, consensus-builder, and a voice for positive change; he had a practical and reasoned approach to complicated issues and an unquestioned integrity and sense of decency; and

WHEREAS, He will be especially missed in the area of public transportation; he worked with local leaders to fashion a credible county public transportation program, a first of its kind, and worked to bring State money for public transportation to his area; and

WHEREAS, He practiced law at Noel and Associates, a firm that he founded in 1995, specializing in commercial litigation and business counseling; previously, he was vice president and associate general counsel for Waste Management of Oak Brook, managing complex civil and criminal litigation; he also served as an officer at the law firm Chadwell and Kayser, Ltd., in Chicago; his legal career began at the Illinois Attorney General's Office, where he was Chief of the Antitrust Division; and

WHEREAS, As a member of the Attorney General's office, Mr. Noel drafted the State's first criminal statute aimed at deterring computer fraud and theft of data; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Noel was also a partner in Century Philanthropy Group, a professional fundraising firm for non-profit organizations; and

WHEREAS, From 1992 to 2002, Mr. Noel served as a co-director of the capital building campaign for St. Petronille Church, where he was an active member; as a result of this multi-year effort, a long-range master plan for the parish campus was developed and $8 Million was raised to renovate the school and portions of the church, and to construct a new Parish Life Center; he was an active supporter of capital projects for several area churches; as a result of his knowledge and experience, Bishop Joseph Imesch appointed him a member of the Council on Administration for the Diocese of Joliet; and

WHEREAS, He was a member of the American Bar Association, American Arbitration Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, and DuPage County Bar Association; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Noel earned an A.B. degree from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D. degree from the Loyola University School of Law in Chicago; he completed coursework at Northeastern Illinois University and Dominican University for a teacher's certification; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Noel was a native of Chicago's Austin neighborhood and a graduate of Fenwick High School in Oak Park; and

WHEREAS, Jazz and golf were lifelong passions for him; he was a longtime member of the Medinah Country Club, where he served as a walking scorer for Tiger Woods during the 1999 PGA Championship, which Tiger Woods won; and

WHEREAS, The passing of John Noel has been deeply felt by many, especially his sons, Benjamin and Matthew; his brother Melbourne Noel, Jr., and his wife, Sandra, and their four children, Emma, Anna, Melissa, and Rebecca; and his former wife, Sara; 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 John Noel, who served his constituents with honor, integrity, and distinction, and we extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends, community, 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 sincerest condolences.