Full Text of SR1420 98th General Assembly
SR1420 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate were saddened | 3 | | to learn of the passing of one of our oldest and dearest | 4 | | friends, Bill Luking, on June 12, 2014; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, William H. Luking was born on August 7, 1947 in | 6 | | Connersville, Indiana, the eldest of the 9 children of Lowell | 7 | | and Elizabeth McCarthy Luking; he graduated from Connersville | 8 | | High School in 1965, graduated cum laude from the University of | 9 | | Notre Dame in 1969, and graduated from Northwestern University | 10 | | Law School in 1972; he later served his country as a First | 11 | | Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Bill Luking was one of the Senate's most | 13 | | knowledgeable advocates; he was a wise expert who understood | 14 | | State, local, and federal law; he loved his work and its focus | 15 | | on complex issues involving taxation, economic development, | 16 | | public pensions, and mass transit; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Beginning in 1986 under the administration of | 18 | | Mayor Harold Washington, Bill Luking represented the City of | 19 | | Chicago with commitment and skill; he would go on to serve as a | 20 | | key advocate for the City for nearly 30 more years under Mayors | 21 | | Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Bill Luking's talents, skills, and vast knowledge | 2 | | helped him fight for millions of Chicagoans, conservationists, | 3 | | and nature lovers as he represented the Chicago Public Schools, | 4 | | the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Transit Authority, the | 5 | | City Colleges of Chicago, and - one of his favorites - the | 6 | | Chicago Botanic Garden; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In his years of distinguished service, Bill Luking | 8 | | was instrumental in the passage of some of the most significant | 9 | | laws affecting Chicago and its landscape, including the | 10 | | construction of the new Comiskey Park, now U.S. Cellular Field; | 11 | | the expansion of Soldier Field; the privatization of Midway | 12 | | Airport; strengthening the City's authority over its school | 13 | | system; and reforms that helped preserve the solvency of | 14 | | Chicago's pension system and the retirement security of | 15 | | countless numbers of municipal workers; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Bill Luking and his firm, Luking and Associates, | 17 | | L.L.C., were proud of their pro bono work on behalf of the | 18 | | Chicago Christian Industrial League, Tuesday's Child, the | 19 | | Howard Area Community Association, the Chicago Children's | 20 | | Advocacy Center, and the Southwest Youth Collaborative; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Bill Luking was well known and respected by the | 22 | | members and staff of the Illinois Senate for his great | 23 | | knowledge of national, State, and local law, his genial and |
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| 1 | | honest nature, and his unwavering dedication to our State and | 2 | | its citizens; whether they were advocating on the same side of | 3 | | an issue or in opposition to him, his peers regarded him as an | 4 | | intelligent, forthright, and honest advocate who paved the way | 5 | | for legislative success for many generations of newcomers to | 6 | | the Illinois State Capitol; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Bill Luking was universally regarded as a | 8 | | gentleman and a scholar, as well as a man of warmth and humor; | 9 | | and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Bill Luking is survived by his siblings, Laura | 11 | | (Peter) Jamison, Meg Luking, Mary Anne Morris, Beth Luking, | 12 | | Gene (Debbie) Luking, Joe (Johnnie) Luking, Charlene (Larry) | 13 | | Wood, and Rosemary (Jay) Card; 13 nieces and nephews; 13 | 14 | | great-nieces and great-nephews; and his friend and companion, | 15 | | Claire Manning; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his | 18 | | family and friends, mourn the passing of Bill Luking; and be it | 19 | | further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to the family of Bill Luking as a symbol of our deep | 22 | | sympathies and great esteem.
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