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1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to |
3 | | learn of the death of former Illinois State Senator Thomas Lee |
4 | | "Tom" Johnson of West Chicago, who passed away on December 3, |
5 | | 2018; and
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6 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson was born in Oakland, California to |
7 | | Wallace and Raechel (Oslund) Johnson on April 30, 1945; he |
8 | | spent much of his youth in South Dakota and Illinois; his |
9 | | father was a minister, and his mother was a homemaker; his four |
10 | | grandparents, Elof and Jennie Johnson and August and Hannah |
11 | | Oslund emigrated from Sweden to the United States in the late |
12 | | 19th century; he graduated from Oak Lawn Community High School |
13 | | in 1963; he served in the United States Army, which included a |
14 | | tour of duty in Vietnam, from 1966 until 1968; he then earned a |
15 | | Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of |
16 | | Michigan in 1970 and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University |
17 | | College of Law in 1974; and
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18 | | WHEREAS, Following law school, Sen. Johnson joined the |
19 | | DuPage County State's Attorney's Office as Assistant State's |
20 | | Attorney, where he became Chief of the White Collar Crime |
21 | | Division; in 1979, he co-founded a private practice, Johnson & |
22 | | Westra, in Wheaton; he was elected to the Illinois House of |
23 | | Representatives in 1993 and served the 50th District until |
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1 | | 2003; while in the House, he chaired the Judiciary Committee |
2 | | and was co-chairman of the Illinois Prison Reform Committee; |
3 | | from 2011 until 2013 he served as the Illinois State Senator |
4 | | for the 48th District; he was an effective legislator, known |
5 | | for consistently and respectfully reaching across the aisle to |
6 | | find common ground; and
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7 | | WHEREAS, After elective office, Sen. Johnson was appointed |
8 | | by the governor to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and |
9 | | served for 14 years; he also served on the boards of the |
10 | | Missionary Furlough Homes Foundation, the Greater Europe |
11 | | Mission, the Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative, the Wheaton |
12 | | Youth Outreach, and the advisory board of Illinois Citizens for |
13 | | Life; in addition to their deep commitment to Wheaton Bible |
14 | | Church, he and Ginger also welcomed refugees from Ukraine, |
15 | | Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina into their home, often for years at |
16 | | a time; and
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17 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson was widely respected as a man of |
18 | | conviction, integrity, courage, wisdom, fairness, and good |
19 | | humor; in all things, he partnered with the love of his life, |
20 | | Ginger; his family was his greatest pride and joy; he |
21 | | encouraged each one to go out into the world with a spirit of |
22 | | humility, a dedication to service, and a belief that there is |
23 | | virtue in working to solve problems, both large and small; he |
24 | | enjoyed fishing with his sons, tooling around his workshop, and |
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1 | | tending to a menagerie of horses, chickens, geese, and goats; |
2 | | on Saturdays, he could often be found golfing with his sons and |
3 | | friends; for the last 11 summers, he and Ginger ran a week-long |
4 | | adventure camp for their grandchildren at their home; and
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5 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson was preceded in death by his parents |
6 | | and his sister, Elizabeth "Betty" Rae Johnson; and
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7 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson is survived by his wife and friend of |
8 | | more than 50 years, Virginia "Ginger" Van Der Molen Johnson; |
9 | | his sons and their spouses, Soren and (Ever Horan) Johnson, |
10 | | Derek (Carolyn Hutchinson) Johnson, and Kirk (Marie-Josee |
11 | | Cantin) Johnson; his grandchildren, Ever, Owen, Berend, |
12 | | Virginia, Charlie, Vivian, Anders, August, and Isidora; his |
13 | | brothers, David (Marianne Hess) Johnson and Paul (Pat Joslyn) |
14 | | Johnson; his 19 nieces and nephews; and his 30 great-nieces and |
15 | | great-nephews; therefore, be it
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16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL |
17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of |
18 | | former Illinois State Senator Thomas Lee "Tom" Johnson and |
19 | | extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all |
20 | | who knew and loved him; and be it further
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21 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
22 | | presented to the family of Sen. Tom Johnson as an expression of |