Full Text of SR0131 102nd General Assembly
SR0131 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Jon Van, who passed away on July 10, | 4 | | 2019 at the age of 75; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Jon Van was born Jon Karl Van Dusseldorp to Karl | 6 | | and Charlotte Christianson Van Dusseldorp in Des Moines in | 7 | | 1943; he was their only child; he graduated from North Des | 8 | | Moines High School in 1960, where he was a National Merit | 9 | | Scholar and played trombone in the marching band; he attended | 10 | | the University of Iowa where he earned a bachelor's degree in | 11 | | 1966 and a master's degree in political science in 1968; he was | 12 | | a Sigma Chi and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, the national | 13 | | leadership honor society; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, During his college years, Jon Van covered student | 15 | | unrest at the University of Iowa as a reporter and editor of | 16 | | the student run newspaper, the Daily Iowan; he was also a | 17 | | freelance reporter for the Des Moines Register, where he | 18 | | covered events and city and county governmental news in Iowa | 19 | | City; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, In 1973, Jon Van began his career at the Chicago | 21 | | Tribune as a metro reporter; within a few years, he started | 22 | | covering science and would often work alongside veteran |
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| 1 | | science reporter Ronald Kotulak; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Jon Van had an insatiable curiosity about how | 3 | | things work; he was a multi-talented reporter who covered a | 4 | | wide range of interests and topics, including Mount Saint | 5 | | Helens' eruption, space launches, experiments and discoveries | 6 | | at Fermilab, and the big particle accelerator in Switzerland; | 7 | | after attending the American Association for Advancement of | 8 | | Science annual meeting in 1990, he reported on subjects | 9 | | ranging from carcinogens in food to pigeons or pulsars; in | 10 | | later years at the Tribune, he covered technology for the | 11 | | business section that included subjects such as wireless | 12 | | broadband, nanotechnology, and Illinois' biotech community; | 13 | | and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Jon Van used his talent for writing to help | 15 | | readers understand complex concepts with ease; he was | 16 | | considered an upbeat subject matter expert and helpful to his | 17 | | colleagues; he retired from the Tribune in 2008; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Jon Van was an avid cyclist who was a member of | 19 | | the League of American Wheelmen; he commuted from his home in | 20 | | Oak Park to the Chicago Tribune Tower for many years; he went | 21 | | on cycling trips through the United States and Europe with his | 22 | | cycling companions; in 1974, he participated in a 430-mile | 23 | | trip across Iowa; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Jon Van was known for his quick wit and keen | 2 | | observations; he loved beer and jazz; he left a final legacy in | 3 | | his field of interest by donating his body to science; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, At the time of his passing, Jon Van was survived | 5 | | by his wife, Marsha; his daughters, Kristin Virginia Van and | 6 | | Lisa Van Pasquesi (Scott); his grandchildren, Anthony Van | 7 | | Pasquesi, Ryan Scott Pasquesi, and Tea Denise Pasquesi; his | 8 | | former wife, Denise O'Brien Van; his several cousins; his | 9 | | colleagues; and his many friends; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 11 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 12 | | Jon Van and extend our sincere condolences to his family, | 13 | | friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to the family of Jon Van as an expression of our | 16 | | deepest sympathy.
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