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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
| 3 | learn of the death of
Kenneth Gill of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, | ||||||
| 4 | who passed away on June 1, 2009; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Kenneth Gill was born in O'Fallon; he served his | ||||||
| 6 | country with pride and distinction as a member of the United | ||||||
| 7 | States Navy during World War II and the Korean War; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Kenneth Gill received his bachelor's degree from | ||||||
| 9 | Illinois College, his master's degree from the University of | ||||||
| 10 | Illinois, and his doctorate in education from Northern Illinois | ||||||
| 11 | University; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Kenneth Gill had a long and distinguished career | ||||||
| 13 | in education at Wheeling Township Elementary District 21; he | ||||||
| 14 | began his career in District 21 in 1959, when the district had | ||||||
| 15 | only 3 schools and 1,100 students; at the time of Mr. Gill's | ||||||
| 16 | retirement in 1980, there were 17 schools and 6,600 students in | ||||||
| 17 | the district; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, During his tenure in District 21, Kenneth Gill was | ||||||
| 19 | instrumental in the growth and prosperity of the school | ||||||
| 20 | district; influenced by his blind mother, he was instrumental | ||||||
| 21 | in starting a Braille program for blind students in the | ||||||
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| 1 | district; he helped start a special education program and a | ||||||
| 2 | before and after-school day care program; his biggest | ||||||
| 3 | challenge, however, was in 1968, when he took on busloads of | ||||||
| 4 | John Birch Society supporters and many in his own community | ||||||
| 5 | when he defended teaching sex education in the district; | ||||||
| 6 | despite threats from his opponents to take the issue to the | ||||||
| 7 | U.S. Supreme Court, he stood firm and kept the program; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, In November of 1980, the District 21 school board | ||||||
| 9 | named the district's administration center "The Kenneth F. Gill | ||||||
| 10 | Administration Building" in honor of Kenneth Gill's many years | ||||||
| 11 | of dedicated service; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Kenneth Gill is survived by his wife, Margaret; | ||||||
| 13 | his daughter, Diane Sawyer; his son, Michael; and his 4 | ||||||
| 14 | grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 16 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | ||||||
| 17 | his family and friends, the passing of Kenneth Gill; and be it | ||||||
| 18 | further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 20 | presented to the family of Kenneth Gill as an expression of our | ||||||
| 21 | sympathy.
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