Full Text of SJR0011 94th General Assembly
SJ0011 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, William "Bill" C. Harris of Pontiac, a longtime | 3 |
| state lawmaker, former President of the Illinois Senate, and | 4 |
| former Illinois Commissioner of Banks and Trust Companies, died | 5 |
| on December 30, 2004; and
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| WHEREAS, He was born May 7, 1921 in Pontiac, the son of | 7 |
| Raleigh J. and Bernadine (Cullen) Harris; he graduated from | 8 |
| Pontiac Grade School and Pontiac Township High School; he | 9 |
| entered Michigan State University in the fall of 1941, and in | 10 |
| December 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy; while at Great | 11 |
| Lakes, he was named honor man out of a class of 750 in the naval | 12 |
| program; during World War II, he served as aviation chief | 13 |
| ordinance man in the South Pacific; he was honorably discharged | 14 |
| in December of 1945 after serving four years; after returning | 15 |
| to Pontiac, he joined the R.J. Harris Funeral Home as a | 16 |
| partner; on May 31, 1947, he married Jeanne Turck in Pontiac at | 17 |
| the original Grace Episcopal Church on the square; and
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| WHEREAS, In May 1948, he became the charter president of | 19 |
| Pontiac Jaycees; he was also a charter member of the Saint | 20 |
| James Hospital advisory board, a member of the Moose, Pontiac | 21 |
| Elks Lodge, Lions Club, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American | 22 |
| Legion, and the Voiture 8 et 8 in Pontiac; and
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| WHEREAS, William Harris was a public official who was | 24 |
| committed to serving the people of Illinois; first elected to | 25 |
| the Illinois House of Representatives in 1954 at the age of 33, | 26 |
| he was the House Whip during his six years of service in that | 27 |
| body; in 1960, he was elected to the Senate, and during his 16 | 28 |
| years of service, he held the position of assistant majority | 29 |
| leader and was elected the first president of the Senate, a | 30 |
| position created under the 1970 Illinois Constitution; Senator | 31 |
| Harris was elected "Most Effective Senator" three successive | 32 |
| years; in 1977, he was appointed by then Gov. Jim Thompson as |
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| Illinois Commissioner of Banks and Trust Companies; he held | 2 |
| that position until he retired in January 1991; and
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| WHEREAS, William Harris was a delegate to the Republican | 4 |
| National Convention in Miami in 1968; he served as trustee of | 5 |
| the Humiston Haven Nursing Home, trustee of the Appolos Camp, | 6 |
| Bennet Humiston Trust since 1975, and trustee on the Floyd and | 7 |
| Alta Byrne Trust; he served as a senior vice president of Cole | 8 |
| Taylor Bank, as a board member of the Community Bank of | 9 |
| Pittsfield, and as ambassador at-large to the Community Bankers | 10 |
| of Illinois; he was chairman of the World Trade Association of | 11 |
| Illinois for two years, a board member of the Cradle in | 12 |
| Evanston for many years, and then was an Emeritus Member of the | 13 |
| Cradle Board; he was a member of Grace Episcopal Church in | 14 |
| Pontiac; and
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| WHEREAS, A staunch Republican, he was well-respected | 16 |
| regardless of one's political persuasion and was a man who saw | 17 |
| his strength as getting people to see others' viewpoints and in | 18 |
| being able to make accommodations to solve problems in this | 19 |
| unique and diverse State; he will be remembered as a legislator | 20 |
| who was truly committed to making Illinois a better place to | 21 |
| live for all its citizens, and he was known to "reach across | 22 |
| the political aisle" and was a great people person who | 23 |
| positively impacted the lives of many people whose lives he | 24 |
| touched; and | 25 |
| WHEREAS, On the statewide scene, the City of Pontiac was | 26 |
| synonymous with Bill Harris; he was a part of the history and | 27 |
| depth of Pontiac and of Illinois history, serving when the | 28 |
| State government was undergoing major reforms from biennial | 29 |
| budgets to annual budgets, from six-month legislative sessions | 30 |
| every two years to annual sessions; he worked at making the | 31 |
| legislative branch an equal branch of government, engaging in | 32 |
| the efforts to implement many provisions of the 1970 Illinois | 33 |
| Constitution; and
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| WHEREAS, Many remember Bill Harris as always having a smile | 2 |
| and an upbeat, can-do attitude; and
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| WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his mother, Bernadine | 4 |
| Harris, his father, Raleigh J. Harris, his sister, Helen | 5 |
| Elizabeth Harris, and his brother, Raleigh J. Harris Jr.; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of William C. Harris will be felt by | 7 |
| all who knew and loved him, especially his wife Jeanne; his two | 8 |
| children, Barbara A. Harris and Charles M. (Robin) Harris; and | 9 |
| his two grandchildren, Lindsey J. Schrof and Jenna Harris; | 10 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 12 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 13 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that we mourn the passing of William C. | 14 |
| Harris and we extend to his family our thoughts and prayers | 15 |
| during this difficult time; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 18 |
| sympathy.
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