HR0132 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0132 LRB098 11259 GRL 42387 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives have learned with great sadness of the passing of former Illinois Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch; and

WHEREAS, Dawn Clark Netsch served with great distinction as a delegate in the 1970 Constitutional Convention and in the Illinois Senate; and

WHEREAS, Dawn Clark Netsch specialized in breaking glass ceilings; she will be forever remembered as the first woman to win state-wide constitutional office and the gubernatorial nomination of a major political party; and

WHEREAS, Dawn Clark Netsch brought a remarkable intellectual capacity and "hands-on" leadership to a wide breadth of issues, ranging from State finance to environmental quality, from voting rights to campaign finance reform; and

WHEREAS, Dawn Clark Netsch graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University Law School; she later served at a Washington D.C. law firm, followed by a clerkship for U.S. District Court Judge Julius Hoffman; and

WHEREAS, Dawn Clark Netsch's achievements earned her many awards from groups like Common Cause, the Illinois Environmental Council, and the YMCA; in January of 2013, she was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from Planned Parenthood on the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade; and

WHEREAS, Dawn Clark Netsch, through her work as an administrative and legal aide to Governor Otto Kerner, helped modernize Illinois government; and

WHEREAS, Dawn Clark Netsch taught a wide range of classes at Northwestern University Law School; she also co-authored a widely used text on state and local government; and

WHEREAS, While a native of Ohio by birth, Dawn Clark Netsch and her late husband, the internationally known architect, Walter Netsch, called Chicago home; and

WHEREAS, Dawn Clark Netsch was a major fan of the Chicago White Sox; her sense of humor was evident in her gubernatorial television advertisement that depicted her as a straight-shooting pool player; and

WHEREAS, Even in her final weeks, Dawn Clark Netsch continued to work for the people of this State through the Illinois Task Force on Campaign Reform and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Ethics Reform Task Force; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we hail Dawn Clark Netsch for her life of vast accomplishments and we recognize her major contributions to improving the lives and livelihoods of the people of Illinois.