Full Text of SR1079 103rd General Assembly
SR1079 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SR1079 | | LRB103 41047 LAW 74257 r |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of David E. Elder of rural Petersburg, | 4 | | who passed away on May 5, 2024; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, David Elder was born to David and Clara Elder in | 6 | | East Saint Louis on October 28, 1927; he was raised in the | 7 | | Carbondale area during the Great Depression and assisted in | 8 | | the operations of the family farm from a young age; he also | 9 | | worked as an orchard laborer and a clerk at the Kroger store in | 10 | | Cobden, and he sold chickens and fresh fruit and vegetables | 11 | | door-to-door with his father in Carbondale; he attended | 12 | | Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) until he was | 13 | | drafted into the U.S. Army in 1946, serving as part of the | 14 | | Occupation of Japan during World War II; while stationed in | 15 | | Japan, he was a member of the mission group The Far Eastern | 16 | | Gospel Crusade; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Upon returning to the U.S. in 1947, David Elder | 18 | | returned to school on the GI Bill; he married Elsie Irene | 19 | | Wheetley on December 26, 1948, and they had five children, | 20 | | Claudia, Vicki, Dave, Patti, and Steve, before she preceded | 21 | | him in death in March 1971; after receiving his bachelor's | 22 | | degree, he enrolled in his first master's program in fish and | 23 | | wildlife at SIUC, where he was the head of his research team |
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| 1 | | and taught undergraduate classes in biology; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, After graduation, David Elder and his family | 3 | | moved to Fulton County, where he worked as a coal mine land | 4 | | reclamation design plan administrator for Truax Traer Coal | 5 | | Company; he then taught 8th grade math and science for the | 6 | | Canton school district; he earned his second master's degree | 7 | | in school administration from Western Illinois University in | 8 | | the late 1950s; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, David Elder was asked by the Illinois Education | 10 | | Association (IEA) to advance the cause and employment | 11 | | protection of the State's teachers in Springfield in 1959, | 12 | | becoming a consultant and lobbyist with the state legislature | 13 | | to advance school law and finance legislation; later, he led | 14 | | the IEA's PAC activities; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In the late 1960s, David Elder was appointed as a | 16 | | school finance and law consultant to assist in the rewriting | 17 | | and updating of the Constitution of the State of Illinois at | 18 | | the 1970 Constitutional Convention, and he also advised on the | 19 | | all-encompassing issue of general revenue; he married Tana | 20 | | Horine on July 1, 1972, and they later moved to a 21-acre home | 21 | | in rural Menard County in 1974 and had one child, Kathy; he | 22 | | continued to serve as a consultant in school law and finance to | 23 | | the state legislature in 1973; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, David Elder returned as a staff member of the | 2 | | Illinois Senate Republicans on the Education Committee in the | 3 | | 1980s; he was then appointed as executive director of the | 4 | | State of Illinois School Problems Commission by 1985, where he | 5 | | was tasked by the Illinois State Superintendent of Schools to | 6 | | write legislation to help keep children in Illinois safe from | 7 | | falling through the cracks in the system, leading him to write | 8 | | the bill that created what became the Community and | 9 | | Residential Services Authority (CRSA); his legislation passed | 10 | | nearly unanimously and became a fully funded mandated program | 11 | | whose decision becomes the final say in cases brought before | 12 | | it when dealing with the welfare of individual children; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, During his tenure, David Elder became a | 14 | | sought-after expert in school law and finance who could be | 15 | | trusted and counted on by both Republicans and Democrats to | 16 | | guide them towards making informed decisions and taking | 17 | | objective action on legislation regarding the education and | 18 | | welfare of the children of Illinois; after retiring in 1992, | 19 | | he continued to serve as a consultant for a time; after that, | 20 | | he began cycling every 18 months on and off, per the bylaws he | 21 | | created, as board chairman of the CSRA; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, David Elder served and volunteered wherever he | 23 | | resided; he and Elsie served as Boy Scout leaders; he then |
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| 1 | | helped Tana with Brownies and Girl Scouts, and they were | 2 | | co-founders of Petersburg PATT (Parents and Teachers | 3 | | Together), followed the PORTA High School Scholastic Bowl | 4 | | team, and were involved as PORTA band parents; at some point | 5 | | during the late 1970s to the early 1980s, he and others, | 6 | | including a Supreme Court Justice, met annually with juniors | 7 | | and seniors from Elk Grove High school as part of the Illinois | 8 | | Citizen Experience, where students were brought to Springfield | 9 | | by their teacher, Richard Chierico, to learn about state | 10 | | government; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, David Elder was deeply committed to his faith, | 12 | | and he was a highly active member at every church he attended, | 13 | | including serving as a Sunday school teacher since he was a | 14 | | teenager, a lay leader, a deacon, a church moderator, a choir | 15 | | member, a greeter, a church softball team member, a Bible | 16 | | study leader, and as chairman of a Christian Education | 17 | | Committee; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, David Elder enjoyed golfing, gardening, hunting, | 19 | | and playing pinochle; most of all, he enjoyed visiting with | 20 | | family and friends; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, David Elder was a proud and beloved husband, | 22 | | father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and he was friend | 23 | | and counselor to many; he will be remembered as a pillar of |
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| 1 | | strength and support for his family and friends; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, David Elder was preceded in death by his first | 3 | | wife, Elsie, and their child, Claudia Lynn; his parents; his | 4 | | sisters, Katherine Jane (the late E.E.) Elder Ballance, Rose | 5 | | (the late Carl) Elder Sellars, and Gracie (the late Dorris) | 6 | | Elder Garner; his niece, Rene Sellars Hileman; his nephew, | 7 | | Danny Balance; and his grandnephews, Jonathan Garner and | 8 | | Elijah Williams; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, David Elder is survived by his wife of 51 years, | 10 | | Tana; his children, Veronica "Vicki" (Robert) Stearmer, David | 11 | | L. "Dave" (the late Janet) Elder, Patricia "Patti" Lewis, | 12 | | Steven "Steve" (Terri) Elder, and Katherine "Kathy" (Mason) | 13 | | Langelier; his brother, Raymond L. (the late Mary) Elder; his | 14 | | sister-in-law, Chris (the late Ernest Ira "Dari") Elder; his | 15 | | grandchildren, Matt (Janille) Stearmer, Brian (Leandra) | 16 | | Stearmer, Jon (Laurel) Stearmer, April Elder, Samantha Elder, | 17 | | Mary Ann (fiance, Doug) Bargas, Becky (Jeremy) Brownfield, | 18 | | Kate Turner, Remi Langelier, and Xage Langelier; 16 | 19 | | great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews; therefore, | 20 | | be it | 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 22 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 23 | | David E. Elder and extend our sincere condolences to his |
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| 1 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 2 | | further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 | | presented to the family of David Elder as an expression of our | 5 | | deepest sympathy. |
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