Full Text of HR0312 97th General Assembly
HR0312 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of
Robert G. | 4 | | Kirchner of Urbana, who passed away on April 17, 2011; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner was born on June 23, 1956, in | 6 | | Joliet; his parents were Robert and Margaret (Keyser) Kirchner; | 7 | | he grew up in New Lenox; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner attended Western Illinois | 9 | | University, earning his Bachelor's degree in philosophy and | 10 | | political science in 1976 and his Master's degree in political | 11 | | science in 1977; while in college, he met his future wife, | 12 | | Gerri; they married August 25, 1979, in Park Ridge; he later | 13 | | attended the University of Illinois College of Law, and earned | 14 | | his law degree in 1982; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, After earning his law degree, he joined the | 16 | | Champaign law practice of Burt Greaves and Art Lerner, which | 17 | | became Greaves, Lerner and Kirchner, and later, Lerner and | 18 | | Kirchner; in 2002, he opened his own law office in Champaign; | 19 | | he argued many cases before the appellate courts and the | 20 | | Illinois Supreme Court, winning several cases that established | 21 | | legal precedents; he was well known among his peers as a | 22 | | champion of numerous legal causes that other attorneys would |
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| 1 | | not take; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, He ran as a Democratic candidate for State | 3 | | Representative in 1996; despite losing the election, his | 4 | | campaign engaged public participation by hosting a series of | 5 | | monthly symposiums on key issues impacting State legislation, | 6 | | including education funding, crime, drug abuse, gun control, | 7 | | child welfare, women's rights, health care, employment laws, | 8 | | and campaign finance reform; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner served on the Champaign County | 10 | | Board as the District 9 representative, appointed in 2001 and | 11 | | elected in 2002 to a 2-year term; as a member of the board, he | 12 | | voted to pass laws to guarantee a living wage for all full-time | 13 | | county employees, prohibit employment discrimination on the | 14 | | basis of race, gender, or sexual orientation, and establish | 15 | | free dental care for low-income children; he served as chair of | 16 | | the county nursing home sub-committee and worked on the | 17 | | successful passage of the referendum proposal to fund its | 18 | | construction; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner served as Vice President of the | 20 | | Champaign County Bar Association from 1994 to 1995; in 1994, he | 21 | | helped establish Best Interest of Children, a local non-profit | 22 | | organization dedicated to child and family advocacy, and served | 23 | | on the organization's board; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, He was an avid softball player, and enjoyed | 2 | | volleyball, bocce ball, bowling, ping pong, bridge, hearts, | 3 | | pinochle, poker, and other games; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner is survived by his wife of 32 | 5 | | years, Gerri; his sisters, Marlene (Dennis) Gallagher and | 6 | | Lorrie (Robert) Chaplin; his brothers, John (Carol) Burkhart, | 7 | | Ron (Laura) Kirchner, and David Kirchner; his brother-in-law, | 8 | | Paul (Sue) Geissler; his sister-in-law, Shelly (Paul) Kotecki; | 9 | | his 4 nephews; and his 7 nieces; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 11 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 12 | | we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of | 13 | | Robert Kirchner; and be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to the family of Robert Kirchner as an expression of | 16 | | our sympathy.
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