SR0101 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0101 LRB095 11608 KXB 33557 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of John H. Bickley Jr. of Long Grove, who passed away on February 26, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Bickley practiced law for much of his life, with 11 years in law enforcement and 44 years in civil plaintiff and defense trial work; he began as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois in 1955; he also worked as an assistant state's attorney and special prosecutor- for Cook County; and

WHEREAS, He was honored by Readers Digest in 1959 for the successful prosecution of Paul "The Waiter" Ricca, head of the crime syndicate of Chicago, and the case was honored as one of the best 100 true crime stories of the century; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Bickley graduated from the Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee; he completed his A.A. degree in 1948 at Evanston Community College, then went on to graduate with his J.D. from Chicago Kent College of Law IIT University in 1951; he was appointed as a special lecturer on evidence and technique at the U.S. Attorney's Conference by Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1963 in Chicago; and

WHEREAS, In 1964, he was the Republican candidate for States Attorney of Cook County; the Chicago Junior Chamber of Commerce voted him one of ten Outstanding Young Men of Chicago that same year; he was listed as one of the Outstanding Young Men of the United States in 1965; he was admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1965; in 1971, he served as the special counsel to and Chief of the Environmental Control Division, Illinois State Attorney General's Office; from 1971 to 1972 he was the president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association; from 1972 to 1973 he was the president of the Federal Bar Association of the Chicago Chapter; and from 1974 to 1975 he served as the national vice president of the Federal Bar Association; he was elected a member of the Society of Trial Lawyers in 1973; he was also a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association and the Lake County Bar Association; and

WHEREAS, John Bickley was a guest lecturer at both Chicago Kent College of Law and DePaul University Law Clinic; he earned the Martindale Hubbell Rating of A.V., the highest rating available; he served as consulting attorney to the Illinois State Board of Elections and was a former campaign manager for U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen, Illinois Governor Richard Ogilvie, Illinois Attorney General William Scott, as well as 17 others; he proudly served as a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps for 42 years, until his retirement in May 1989; he was a certified trial counsel for General Courts-Marital, a graduate of the Naval School of Justice, and was admitted to the U.S. Court of Military Appeals; and

WHEREAS, John H. Bickley Jr. is survived by his wife, Anne Clark-Bickley, whom he married on Jan. 20, 1995, in Waukegan; his children, John H. (Sandy) Bickley III, Lisa F. (Tom) Bitsky, and Kathryn M. (Mark) Hastings; his stepdaughter, Jennifer (Conrad) Stoldt; his grandchildren, John IV, Kathryn and Melanie Bickley, Tom Jr., Joe and Gregory Bitsky, and Steve, Jim and Lisa Hastings; his great-grandchildren, Charlie, Logan and Reece; and his sister, Mary Runion; he was preceded in death by his parents; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of John H. Bickley Jr. and extend our condolences to his family and friends at this time; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of John H. Bickley Jr. as a symbol of our sympathy.