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SENATE RESOLUTION


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

 

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

 
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    WHEREAS, He was honored by Readers Digest in 1959 for the 
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successful prosecution of Paul "The Waiter" Ricca, head of the 
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crime syndicate of Chicago, and the case was honored as one of 
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the best 100 true crime stories of the century; and
 
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    WHEREAS,
Mr. Bickley graduated from the Castle Heights 
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Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee; he completed his A.A. 
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degree in 1948 at Evanston Community College, then went on to 
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graduate with his J.D. from Chicago Kent College of Law IIT 
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University in 1951; he was appointed as a special lecturer on 
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evidence and technique at the U.S. Attorney's Conference by 
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Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1963 in Chicago; and
 
 


 






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    WHEREAS, In 1964, he was the Republican candidate for 
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States Attorney of Cook County; the Chicago Junior Chamber of 
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Commerce voted him one of ten Outstanding Young Men of Chicago 
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that same year; he was listed as one of the Outstanding Young 
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Men of the United States in 1965; he was admitted to the 
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Supreme Court of the United States in 1965; in 1971, he served 
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as the special counsel to and Chief of the Environmental 
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Control Division, Illinois State Attorney General's Office; 
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from 1971 to 1972 he was the president of the Illinois Trial 
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Lawyers Association; from 1972 to 1973 he was the president of 
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the Federal Bar Association of the Chicago Chapter; and from 
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1974 to 1975 he served as the national vice president of the 
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Federal Bar Association; he was elected a member of the Society 
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of Trial Lawyers in 1973; he was also a member of the American 
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Trial Lawyers Association and the Lake County Bar Association; 
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and
 
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    WHEREAS, John Bickley was a guest lecturer at both Chicago 
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Kent College of Law and DePaul University Law Clinic; he earned 
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the Martindale Hubbell Rating of A.V., the highest rating 
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available; he served as consulting attorney to the Illinois 
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State Board of Elections and was a former campaign manager for 
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U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen, Illinois Governor Richard 
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Ogilvie, Illinois Attorney General William Scott, as well as 17 
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others; he proudly served as a lieutenant colonel in the Marine 
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Corps for 42 years, until his retirement in May 1989; he was a 
 


 






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certified trial counsel for General Courts-Marital, a graduate 
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of the Naval School of Justice, and was admitted to the U.S. 
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Court of Military Appeals; and

 

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

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

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