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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to honor the life and legacy of the | ||||||
| 4 | late United States Senator Paul Simon on the occasion of the | ||||||
| 5 | 80th year of his birth in November of 2008; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Paul Simon was born on November 28, 1928 in | ||||||
| 7 | Eugene, Oregon; at the age of nineteen, he moved to Troy and | ||||||
| 8 | purchased the "Troy Call" newspaper, becoming the youngest | ||||||
| 9 | newspaper editor/publisher in the nation; building on his | ||||||
| 10 | success, he built a chain of fourteen weekly newspapers; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Paul Simon served the people of the State of | ||||||
| 12 | Illinois with pride and distinction in the General Assembly as | ||||||
| 13 | a State Representative from 1955 to 1962 and as a State Senator | ||||||
| 14 | from 1963 to 1968; during his tenure, he gained national | ||||||
| 15 | recognition and respect as both a forthright journalist and as | ||||||
| 16 | an "independent" elected State official; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, In 1968, Paul Simon was elected to serve as the | ||||||
| 18 | 39th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois with Republican Governor | ||||||
| 19 | Richard B. Ogilvie; the pair's bipartisan administration | ||||||
| 20 | produced the State's first income tax and paved the way for the | ||||||
| 21 | State's fourth constitutional convention, which created the | ||||||
| 22 | fourth and current constitution; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, In 1974, Paul Simon ran for the open seat in the | ||||||
| 2 | Illinois 24th Congressional District, winning the election; he | ||||||
| 3 | went on to serve the heart of Southern Illinois in the United | ||||||
| 4 | States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1985; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, In 1984, Paul Simon won the United States Senate | ||||||
| 6 | seat, where he vigorously campaigned to save the National | ||||||
| 7 | Direct Student Loan Program; he was also well known for working | ||||||
| 8 | across party lines, joining Senator Orrin Hatch in co-authoring | ||||||
| 9 | the Balanced Budget Amendment in 1996; he served in the United | ||||||
| 10 | States Senate until 1997; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, In 1988, Paul Simon decided to run for the office | ||||||
| 12 | of United States President; Simon won the Illinois State | ||||||
| 13 | primary on the top of the ticket; however, he suspended his | ||||||
| 14 | campaign later that year, without any regrets, claiming the | ||||||
| 15 | race had been an "exhilarating experience" in getting to know | ||||||
| 16 | our nation better; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Paul Simon was the author or co-author of some 20 | ||||||
| 18 | books, with topics ranging from important issues such as global | ||||||
| 19 | water resource concerns to his last work, titled "52 Simple | ||||||
| 20 | Ways To Make A Difference", which was published after his | ||||||
| 21 | death; his last book simply stated his long held belief that | ||||||
| 22 | "ordinary people doing small things can make a big difference"; | ||||||
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| 1 | and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Paul Simon's honesty, integrity, and compassion | ||||||
| 3 | serve as models of living for the citizens and public servants | ||||||
| 4 | of this State, the nation, and the world at large; therefore, | ||||||
| 5 | be it
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| 6 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 7 | NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 8 | honor the life and legacy of the late United States Senator | ||||||
| 9 | Paul Simon on the occasion of the 80th year of his birth; and | ||||||
| 10 | be it further
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| 11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 12 | presented to the U.S. Senator Paul Simon Museum in Troy as a | ||||||
| 13 | symbol of our esteem and respect for this great public servant.
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