SR1610 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of former United States Representative Philip M. "Phil" Crane, who passed away at the home of his daughter, Rebekah, on November 8, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Phil Crane was born in Chicago on November 3, 1930; his parents were George W. Crane and Cora Ellen Miller; he graduated from Hillsdale College in 1952 and earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1963; he also served in the United States Army from 1954 until 1956; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Phil Crane taught as an Associate Professor of History at Bradley University; while there, he gained national recognition in politics as a charismatic and popular public speaker on behalf of the Barry Goldwater presidential campaign in 1964; those efforts, combined with the release of his 1964 book, "The Democrat's Dilemma", elevated him as a leading national figure in the fledgling conservative movement and the Republican Party; he also wrote the "The Sum of Good Government" in 1976 and "Surrender in Panama: The Case Against the Treaty" in 1978; and

WHEREAS, In 1969, then-Congressman Donald Rumsfeld was appointed by President Richard Nixon to serve in his administration, leaving a vacancy in Congress; Rep. Phil Crane ran for, and won, the vacated seat, taking up the seat in 1969; he continued to represent Illinois in Congress until January 2005; and

WHEREAS, While serving in Congress, Rep. Phil Crane spent most of his career serving on the Ways and Means Committee, where he championed lower taxes, a simplified tax code, free market economics, and free trade; he was the ranking member and eventually Chairman of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, where he led the effort to pass numerous free trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement; he was also very active in efforts to reduce or limit government spending and authored and supported hundreds of bills and amendments to accomplish those ends; and

WHEREAS, As a leader of the conservative movement in Congress, Rep. Phil Crane was instrumental in the founding of a number of conservative organizations; in 1973, he founded the Republican Study Committee, the preeminent Republican conservative organization in the United States House of Representatives; that same year, he was a leader in the effort to form the Heritage Foundation, which has grown into one of the most well known and respected conservative think tanks in the country; he also served as head of the American Conservative Union; and

WHEREAS, In 1978, Rep. Phil Crane threw his hat in the ring in 1978 for the Republican nomination for President of the United States; as Republicans were commencing the process of choosing Ronald Reagan as the 1980 presidential nominee, he mobilized political support for President Reagan's election; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Phil Crane was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Arlene; a brother, George; and a daughter, Rachel; and

WHEREAS, Rep. Phil Crane is survived by his siblings, Judy, Daniel, and David; his children, Catherine, Susanna, Rebekah, Jennifer, Sarah, George, and Carrie; and many grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of former United States Representative Philip M. "Phil" Crane; and be it further

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