Full Text of SR0678 96th General Assembly
SR0678 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 |
| learn of the death of
Edward W. Kowal, formerly of Glen Ellyn | 4 |
| and Wheaton, who passed away on January 26, 2010; and
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| WHEREAS, Edward Kowal was born on October 13, 1924; he was | 6 |
| born and raised in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood and | 7 |
| graduated from Crane Technical High School; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1942, Edward Kowal passed up a basketball | 9 |
| scholarship at Purdue University to join the United States | 10 |
| Marine Corps; during World War II, he served in the Pacific | 11 |
| theatre as a radio operator, navigator, and rear gunner in | 12 |
| airstrikes over the Marshall Islands; he was later awarded the | 13 |
| Air Medal for his meritorious service; and
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| WHEREAS, After his military discharge in 1946, Edward Kowal | 15 |
| was employed with a Chicago law firm while attending Wright | 16 |
| College; in 1951, he graduated from John Marshall Law School; | 17 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, After graduating from college, Edward Kowal began | 19 |
| in private practice, working for a small law firm in Chicago; | 20 |
| in 1964, he moved to Wheaton and joined the office of the | 21 |
| DuPage County state's attorney, eventually becoming the first |
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| assistant state's attorney; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1974, Edward Kowal was appointed to serve as an | 3 |
| associate judge; he served in every division of the DuPage | 4 |
| courts as an associate judge; in 1984, he was appointed to | 5 |
| serve as a full circuit judge; he was elected to the post in | 6 |
| 1986 and was retained in 1992; as associate judge, he presided | 7 |
| over 3 trials and numerous courtroom hearings involving one of | 8 |
| the most infamous Chicago-area crimes of the last 30 years, the | 9 |
| 1983 abduction, rape, and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine | 10 |
| Nicarico; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1993, Edward Kowal was elected as a chief | 12 |
| circuit court judge; he retired in 1995, having served 21 years | 13 |
| on the bench; as chief judge, he appointed a special prosecutor | 14 |
| to scrutinize elements of the investigation into the killing of | 15 |
| Jeanine Nicarico; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, In 1986, Edward Kowal was named the DuPage County | 17 |
| Bar Association's "Man of the Year"; and
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| WHEREAS, Edward Kowal was preceded in death by his first | 19 |
| wife, Mary; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, Edward Kowal is survived by his wife, Mary Lou; | 21 |
| his sons, Conrad Kowal, Gary Kowal, and David Grimes; his |
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| daughters, Kathleen D'Amico and Elizabeth Grimes; and his 8 | 2 |
| grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 4 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 5 |
| his family and friends, the passing of Edward W. Kowal; and be | 6 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 |
| presented to the family of Edward Kowal as an expression of our | 9 |
| sympathy.
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