Full Text of HR0716 97th General Assembly
HR0716 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Edward Joseph "Ed" Derwinski was a son of | 3 | | Illinois, having been born in Chicago on September 15, 1926; | 4 | | and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, As a member of the "Greatest Generation", Ed | 6 | | Derwinski served his country in World War II, assigned to duty | 7 | | on the Pacific front; after the surrender of Japan aboard the | 8 | | "U.S.S. Missouri", he continued his time in uniform during the | 9 | | occupation of Japan; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, In his return to civilian life after World War II, | 11 | | Ed Derwinski was a real-life counterpart of George Bailey in | 12 | | the 1946 classic movie, "It's a Wonderful Life"; after the | 13 | | death of his father, Ed led his brothers to carry on the family | 14 | | building and loan, West Pullman Savings and Loan, a community | 15 | | savings institution; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, After completing his education at Loyola | 17 | | University, Ed Derwinski joined the Illinois House of | 18 | | Representatives as an elected member of the 70th General | 19 | | Assembly (1957-58) representing the 24th Legislative District; | 20 | | and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, In the 1958 general election, Ed Derwinski ran for |
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| 1 | | and was elected by his fellow Illinoisans to the United States | 2 | | House of Representatives, representing the 4th Congressional | 3 | | District; as a congressman, he served the State of Illinois and | 4 | | the people of the United States for 24 years, from 1959 until | 5 | | 1993; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, As a congressman, Ed Derwinski specialized in | 7 | | foreign affairs, becoming a ranking member of the House Foreign | 8 | | Affairs Committee; in this role, he fought tirelessly to keep | 9 | | the hope of freedom alive in the countries then trapped behind | 10 | | the Iron Curtain; he was repeatedly honored by his fellow | 11 | | Polish-Americans for his advocacy on behalf of the people of | 12 | | Poland, as well as the other sovereign nations of Central and | 13 | | Eastern Europe that, at that time, groaned under the heel of | 14 | | Soviet and Yugoslavian communist occupation; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, After leaving the U.S. House at the end of the | 16 | | 97th Congress, Ed Derwinski joined the Reagan Administration in | 17 | | a variety of roles, including Under Secretary of State for | 18 | | Security Assistance, where he oversaw Ronald Reagan's | 19 | | military-aid program as the Soviet empire approached its | 20 | | collapse; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, When the U.S. Veterans Administration was | 22 | | elevated to Cabinet status in March of 1989, newly-elected | 23 | | President George H.W. Bush appointed Under Secretary Ed |
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| 1 | | Derwinski to be the nation's first Secretary of the Department | 2 | | of Veterans Affairs (USDVA), giving this son of Chicago a seat | 3 | | at the White House cabinet table; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Ed Derwinski served as USDVA Secretary from March | 5 | | 15, 1989, until September 26, 1992; this period saw not only | 6 | | the culmination of his lifelong fight to tear down the Berlin | 7 | | Wall and bring freedom to Poland and other countries of the | 8 | | Soviet empire, but also the significant expansion of his | 9 | | Department as it took on new responsibilities associated with | 10 | | the aging of his fellow World War II veterans and growth in the | 11 | | health-care and other benefits that his country would provide | 12 | | to armed forces veterans of the Cold War and beyond; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, After conclusion of his federal service in 1992, | 14 | | Ed Derwinski returned to the Chicago area to live in | 15 | | retirement, enjoying the companionship of his second wife, | 16 | | Bonita "Bonnie" Derwinski, his daughter, Maureen Quattrocki, | 17 | | his son, Michael Derwinski, his step-daughter, Maggie Hickey, | 18 | | and his step-son, Kevin Hickey; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, After a life spent fruitfully and triumphantly in | 20 | | the service of his country, Illinois State Representative, U.S. | 21 | | Representative, and Secretary Ed Derwinski passed away on | 22 | | January 15, 2012; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 3 | | we mourn the death of our friend and colleague, Edward J. "Ed" | 4 | | Derwinski, and salute his impeccable record of service to this | 5 | | nation; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That we pledge to continue to remember and | 7 | | cherish in our hearts the time in uniform spent by all of our | 8 | | American veterans; our country is what it is because of these | 9 | | men and women; Ed was their leader for a time, but all of them, | 10 | | together, are our leaders; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to the wife of this great patriot, Bonita "Bonnie" | 13 | | Derwinski, his daughter, Maureen Quattrocki, his son, Michael | 14 | | Derwinski, his step-daughter, Maggie Hickey, and his step-son, | 15 | | Kevin Hickey.
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