HR1478

LRB094 21744 KXB 60152 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Associate Judge John Mannion has retired from the 
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bench after a distinguished judicial career of 22 years; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Mannion was born on the South Side of Chicago 
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in 1936; he was raised in Visitation and St. Sabina parishes 
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and attended St. Ignatius and Leo high schools; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He served in the United States Air Force, joining 
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in 1957; he joined the Chicago Police Department in 1961; he 
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married in 1963 and together he and his wife raised four 
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children; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1968 John Mannion received his college degree 
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from Loyola University in Chicago; in 1974 he received his law 
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degree from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, attending night 
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classes while also serving as a police officer; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Mannion served 14 years as a Chicago police 
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officer, including six years as a homicide detective; he and 
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his partners won the police superintendent's award of valor 
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after struggling with a robber who had stabbed three people; 
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and
 

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    WHEREAS, After receiving his law degree he served first as 
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a prosecutor for 10 years, then began his 22-year  career as an 
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Associate Judge in the Criminal Division of the Cook County 
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Circuit Court; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The South Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police 
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ranked Judge Mannion second for his positive qualities out of 
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41 judges ranked in 1999; another report ranked him third out 
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of 49 judges in requests for substitution of judges in criminal 
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cases, all of these requests coming from defense lawyers; and
 
 


 






HR1478
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LRB094 21744 KXB 60152 r




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    WHEREAS, Judge Mannion, who came up from the streets, 
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quotes Shakespeare, and has a phenomenal knowledge of 
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literature, history, and current events, has earned the respect 
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and gratitude of the entire community for his unswerving 
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dedication to the legal system and to his community; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Judge Mannion was honored on his last day in 
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court, September 19, 2006, when childhood friends and his 
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former police partner, John Neary, came out of the lockup and 
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appeared before the bench for his final day in the courtroom; 
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therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
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we congratulate Associate Judge John Mannion on his retirement 
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and express our sincere appreciation for his exemplary service 
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to the people of Illinois; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Associate Judge John Mannion.