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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 Michael McLaughlin of Queens, New York, | ||||||
| 4 | who passed away on August 9, 2009; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Michael was born October 26, 1970 in Berkeley, | ||||||
| 6 | California, to Rohana and Lucas McLaughlin; he grew up in the | ||||||
| 7 | shadow of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County where his love for | ||||||
| 8 | the outdoors was nurtured; as the oldest of three children, he | ||||||
| 9 | played the role of quintessential joker as well as mentor and | ||||||
| 10 | coach; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, He attended Sarah Lawrence College where he | ||||||
| 12 | studied theater; after college, he and his late friend, Jordan | ||||||
| 13 | Berlant, moved to New York; their West Village apartment, | ||||||
| 14 | nicknamed "The Tiny Happy", became a haven for an entire | ||||||
| 15 | community of artists, musicians, and theater folks who inspired | ||||||
| 16 | each other at regular "salons"; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Michael moved to San Francisco where he met his | ||||||
| 18 | future wife, Lauren; at their wedding on July 28, 2002, they | ||||||
| 19 | vowed to value their relationship over being right and to value | ||||||
| 20 | each other's dreams and struggles; together they created a life | ||||||
| 21 | that brought them on a tour of the most expensive cities in | ||||||
| 22 | America, including San Francisco, Boston, and finally New York, | ||||||
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| 1 | where Michael earned his Masters degree in film from Columbia | ||||||
| 2 | University; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Along the way Michael helped Lauren to start her | ||||||
| 4 | own business and Lauren helped Michael to pursue his career as | ||||||
| 5 | a filmmaker, editor, and screenwriter; they both laughed | ||||||
| 6 | together, danced as much as possible, adored each other, and | ||||||
| 7 | looked for new opportunities to live life to the fullest; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, During Michael's career he worked with many | ||||||
| 9 | incredible people in different media including live theater, | ||||||
| 10 | puppetry, and short fiction; Michael was an emerging filmmaker | ||||||
| 11 | whose short film "Shadow Puppets of Doom" was widely shown in | ||||||
| 12 | film festivals and won the "Best Screenplay" award in the Marin | ||||||
| 13 | County Film Festival; one of his final projects was a pilot | ||||||
| 14 | reality television show that would inspire others to go after | ||||||
| 15 | what they want in life; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Michael was always in search of the next | ||||||
| 17 | adventure, whether it was whitewater rafting, skydiving, | ||||||
| 18 | backpacking, wandering into bookstores in the West Village, | ||||||
| 19 | traveling, juggling, eating pie and foods he couldn't | ||||||
| 20 | pronounce, and following his intense commitment to his study of | ||||||
| 21 | Karate;
Michael's infectious delight in playful creativity, | ||||||
| 22 | his oddball and far-fetched plots, his optimism, and his | ||||||
| 23 | determination will be remembered with love; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, He will be missed by his wife, Lauren McLaughlin; | ||||||
| 2 | his mother, Rohana McLaughlin; his sister, Halima; his brother, | ||||||
| 3 | Marlon; his cousin, Vanessa Kummerle; his uncle, Clyde | ||||||
| 4 | Kummerle; his extended family; and his strong circle of | ||||||
| 5 | friends; therefore, be it
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| 6 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 7 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | ||||||
| 8 | his family and friends, the passing of Michael McLaughlin; and | ||||||
| 9 | be it further
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| 10 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 11 | presented to the family of Michael McLaughlin as a symbol of | ||||||
| 12 | our sincere sympathy.
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