Full Text of SR0280 98th General Assembly
SR0280 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of William B. Johnson of Lake Forest, who | 4 | | passed away on April 23, 2013; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, William Johnson was born in 1919 in Salisbury, | 6 | | Maryland, and graduated maxima cum laude from Washington | 7 | | College in 1940, where he was president of the Student | 8 | | Government Association and a member of the tennis team; he | 9 | | attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School where he was | 10 | | editor-in-chief of the law review, graduating in 1943; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, William Johnson worked as an attorney with the | 12 | | United States Tax Court from 1945 to 1947; he became an | 13 | | assistant solicitor for the Pennsylvania Railroad and then in | 14 | | 1959 went to head the Railroad Express Agency before landing at | 15 | | IC Industries and the Illinois Central Railroad in 1966; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, William Johnson enjoyed a 33-year career with IC | 17 | | Industries and the Illinois Central Railroad and built the | 18 | | company into a global giant; during that time he was elected | 19 | | president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Central | 20 | | Railroad and its parent, IC Industries in 1966; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Under the leadership of William Johnson, the |
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| 1 | | Illinois Central was merged with Gulf, Mobile, & Ohio Railroad | 2 | | and ultimately sold to Canadian National in 1999; during his | 3 | | time with IC Industries, he oversaw the acquisition of over 100 | 4 | | companies, including Abex, Whitman Chocolate, Old El Paso, and | 5 | | Dad's Root Beer; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, During his business career, William Johnson was a | 7 | | director of many corporations including Perdue Farms, Lear | 8 | | Siegler's ownership committee, Swiss Air Advisory Board, Trans | 9 | | Union Corporation, Broadcasting, Whitman Corporation, | 10 | | Continental Bank, Esmark, Pet Foods, Midas, Abex, Pepsi-Cola | 11 | | General Bottlers, and Lincoln Financial; he was a member of the | 12 | | board of trustees of the University of Chicago, the board of | 13 | | overseers of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and the | 14 | | board of Governors of Washington College, where he received an | 15 | | honorary doctorate; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1985, Crain's Chicago Business named William | 17 | | Johnson its Businessman of the Year and in 1986 he received | 18 | | Loyola's Damen Award for Civic Leadership; he received the | 19 | | lifetime achievement award from the railroad industry, the | 20 | | Harry E. Salzburg Memorial Medal for outstanding achievement in | 21 | | the field of transportation, and established a chair in | 22 | | corporate law at the University of Pennsylvania; and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, William Johnson is survived by his wife of 70 |
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| 1 | | years, Mary Barb Johnson; his sons, Kirk Johnson and Benjamin | 2 | | H. Johnson; his daughter, Kathleen Johnson; and his 6 | 3 | | grandchildren; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 5 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 6 | | William Johnson, and extend our sincere condolences to his | 7 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 8 | | further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 | | presented to the family of William Johnson as an expression of | 11 | | our deepest sympathy.
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