SR0267 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0267 LRB097 12248 GRL 56710 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of the Honorable Charles William Chapman of Edwardsville, who passed away on May 15, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Charles Chapman was born on February 18, 1942, in Granite City; he was the son of the late Earl William and Mabel Aileen, nee Huddleston, Chapman; he married Judith Ann, nee Severine, Chapman on November 23, 1963, at St. John Lutheran Church in Granite City; and

WHEREAS, Charles Chapman received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville in 1963 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from St. Louis University in 1967; he subsequently completed his coursework for his master's degree in economics in 1980 and earned his Master of Law degree from the University of Virginia School Of Law in 1992; and

WHEREAS, Charles Chapman served as a chemist at the V.A. Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri; he practiced law at the Chapman and Chapman Law Office in Granite City for 12 years; he then served as a Circuit Judge in the Third Judicial Circuit in Madison County from 1979 to 1988; in 1988, he was elected to the Illinois Appellate Court Fifth District, where he served until 2001; he also served as an adjunct professor at St. Louis University Law School from 1982 to 2001 and was a partner at LakinChapman LLC Law Firm in Wood River since 2001; and

WHEREAS, Charles Chapman was admitted to the Illinois Bar Association in 1967; he was admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit in 1969 and before the United States Supreme Court in 1979; and

WHEREAS, Charles Chapman was selected as an Outstanding State Trial Judge in the U.S. by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America; he was also the co-author of two books on legal issues; and

WHEREAS, Charles Chapman was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Carpenter; he enjoyed reading, cooking, and traveling; and

WHEREAS, Charles Chapman was preceded in death by his parents and his brother-in-law, Loren "Curly" Springs; and

WHEREAS, Charles Chapman is survived by his wife, Judith Ann; his children, Christina, Thomas, and Sarah; his grandchildren, Samuel William Chapman, Silas Jerome Chapman, Eleanor Chapman Baker, Charles John Chapman Utgaard, and Margaret Utgaard; his sisters and brothers-in-law, Patricia and Duane Crews, Carol Sue Springs, and Sharon Kaye and Jim Hargraves; his brother-in-law and sisters-in-law, John and Dessa Severine and Janet Severine; and his many extended family members and friends; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Charles William Chapman; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Charles Chapman as an expression of our sympathy.