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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of H. Joseph Gitlin, who passed away on
4December 2, 2016 at the age of 84; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Joseph Gitlin practiced law in Woodstock,
6beginning in 1959; he served as Mayor of Woodstock from 1973 to
71977 and contributed to the restoration of the Woodstock Opera
8House; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Joseph Gitlin was nationally recognized as one of
10the top 43 divorce lawyers by the National Law Journal and was
11listed in the "Best Lawyers in America"; he was also a Fellow
12of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, a Diplomat
13of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, and a member
14of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys; he was a Fellow
15of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, which honored
16him in 2006 with the Berger Award in recognition of his
17exemplary legal career; he was active in the American Bar
18Association, serving as Chair of the Adoption Committee, as
19founder and Chair of the Surrogacy Committee, and as Founder
20and Chair of the Genetics and Human Reproduction Committee; he
21served as Chair of the Family Law Section of the Illinois State
22Bar Association in 1970, and more recently, founded and Chaired
23the Genetics and Human Reproduction Task Force; he was named a

 

 

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1Laureate of the Illinois State Bar Association, a designation
2given to lawyers "who have established and maintained the
3highest principles of the profession"; he was also a member of
4"The Dirty 30", a distinguished group of lawyers who met
5annually; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Joseph Gitlin published articles for national law
7journals and Illinois law journals; his name became synonymous
8with divorce upon the publication of his book, "Gitlin on
9Divorce, A Guide to Illinois Matrimonial Law", an authoritative
10book on divorce first published in 1990, which has been updated
11every year since 1991 and is in its fourth edition and is
12frequently cited by Illinois courts; he also authored the first
13continuing legal education work on adoption for Illinois, and a
14book, "Adoption: An Attorney's Guide to Helping Adoptive
15Parents"; he also edited "Gitlin's Illinois Annotated Family
16Practice Desktop Code"; he was a regular columnist for the
17Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, and was published in the Illinois
18Bar Journal; he wrote, edited, and published his own
19periodical, the "Gitlin on Divorce Reports", a bimonthly
20publication which offered candid and insightful commentary on
21the opinions rendered by the Illinois Appellate Courts and the
22Illinois Supreme Court; and
 
23    WHEREAS, Joseph Gitlin served his community in many
24capacities, including serving as a member of the Woodstock

 

 

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1School Board, Councilman, Mayor for the City of Woodstock,
2President of the Mental Health Center for McHenry County, and
3founder of the McHenry County Family Services Agency; he served
4on the Board of the Mount Hope Methodist Church in Johnsburg
5and served as Chair of the Board of the First United Methodist
6Church of Woodstock; he was a Delegate to the 1980 Republican
7National Convention; before his legal practice, he served in
8the United States Army from 1954 to 1956 as a Psychiatric
9Social Worker during the Korean War; he served as a group
10worker in a Chicago settlement house, the Association House,
11and as a community worker for the Institute for Juvenile
12Research in Chicago, coordinating a study of juvenile gangs in
13Chicago's near west side; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Joseph Gitlin was preceded in death by his first
15wife, Val Johnson Gitlin; his daughter, Laura Gitlin-Petlak;
16his parents, Clara and Reverend M. H. Gitlin; his sister,
17Fania; and his brother, Leon; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Joseph Gitlin is survived by his wife, Paulette
19Gitlin; his son, Gunnar Gitlin; his stepchildren, Jessica
20(Michael) Levins, Frank (Jen Consalvo) Gruber, and Jack (Rose
21Marie) Vrett; his sister, Vera; his brother, Emmanuel (Lydia);
22his grandchildren, Alisa, Hannah, and Miriam; his
23step-grandchildren, Beverly, Charlie, and Isla Breeze; his
24great-grandchildren; and his nieces and nephews; therefore, be

 

 

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1it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
3ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
4H. Joseph Gitlin, and extend our sincere condolences to his
5family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
6further
 
7    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
8presented to the family of Joseph Gitlin as an expression of
9our deepest sympathy.