SR1157 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1157 LRB102 28589 LAW 40467 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of former Illinois State Representative and United States Congressman John Edward Porter of Alexandria, Virginia, formerly of Evanston, who passed away on June 3, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was born in Evanston on June 1, 1935; he graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1953; he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1953 to 1954; he received his Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University in 1957; he earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1961; he served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1958 to 1964; he was admitted into the Illinois Bar in 1961; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was an honor law graduate attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. from 1961 to 1963 before entering private practice in Evanston from 1963 to 1979; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Porter served as a member of the Illinois General Assembly from 1973 to 1979; while in office, he was successful in passing legislation that created government inducements to carpooling, denied pension rights to public officials convicted of a felony, prohibited flammable tents and outdoor-use fabrics, and required disclosure of secret beneficiaries of land trusts involved in business with state government; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was elected as a Republican to represent the 10th District of the State of Illinois in the 96th U.S. Congress by special election, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. Representative Abner J. Mikva; he was reelected to the 10 succeeding Congresses, representing the North Shore, the northwest suburbs, and eastern Lake County of Illinois from January 22, 1980 to January 3, 2001; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and served as chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; under his leadership, the educational and health-related programs of federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), flourished; he additionally founded and co-chaired the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, a voluntary association of more than 250 members of Congress working to identify, monitor, and end human rights violations worldwide; he also co-authored landmark legislation, created Radio Free Asia, and served as chairman of Global Legislators Organized for a Balanced Environment, known as GLOBE USA; and

WHEREAS, Upon his retirement from Congress, Congressman Porter became a partner in the international law firm Hogan Hartson, now Hogan Lovells, where he represented Northwestern University in Washington, D.C. for several years, securing more than $45 million in projects for the university; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Porter served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1996; he additionally served on several boards over the years, including the PBS Foundation, the First Focus Campaign for Children, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Bretton Woods Committee, the Inter-American Dialogue, the Council on Foreign Relations, the RAND Corporation, and the American Heart Association; he previously chaired the non-profit Research!America and served as a trustee of the Brookings Institution and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Porter received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Northwestern University in 1999 and the Public Welfare Medal by the National Academy of Sciences in 2014; he was chosen as the namesake of NIH's Neuroscience Research Center, which was dedicated in March 2014, and a professorship of biomedical research at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine was established in his name in 2001; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was known as a fiscal conservative who held moderate social views; he will be remembered for his tireless advocacy of biomedical research, the environment, and international human rights; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Porter is survived by his spouse of 15 years, Amy McGuire Porter; his children and stepchildren, John, David, Annie, Robyn, Donna, McKay, and Michelle; and his 14 grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of former Illinois State Representative and United States Congressman John Edward Porter and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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