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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 | | graduated from Oak Lawn Community High School in 1963 and |
9 | | served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968, which included a |
10 | | tour of duty in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968; he received his |
11 | | Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of |
12 | | Michigan in 1970 and a Juris Doctor from the DePaul University |
13 | | College of Law in 1974; and
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14 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson joined the DuPage County State's |
15 | | Attorney's Office as Assistant State's Attorney, where he |
16 | | became chief of the White Collar Crime Division; in 1979, he |
17 | | co-founded a private practice in Wheaton, Johnson & Westra; and |
18 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson was elected to the Illinois House of |
19 | | Representatives in 1993, and served the 50th District until |
20 | | 2003; he chaired the Judiciary Committee and was co-chairman of |
21 | | the Illinois Prison Reform Committee; from 2011 to 2013, he |
22 | | represented the 48th District as a Illinois State Senator; he |
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1 | | was an effective legislator, known for consistently and |
2 | | respectfully reaching across the aisle to find common ground; |
3 | | he supported the sanctity of life, the family, and the dignity |
4 | | of every person; he was a tireless advocate for the |
5 | | incarcerated and former inmates; he was a vocal proponent of |
6 | | legislation which abolished the death penalty in Illinois; |
7 | | after elective office, he was appointed by the governor to the |
8 | | Illinois Prisoner Review Board, where he served for 14 years; |
9 | | and |
10 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson served on the boards of the |
11 | | Missionary Furlough Homes Foundation, the Greater Europe |
12 | | Mission, the Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative, Wheaton |
13 | | Youth Outreach, and the advisory board of Illinois Citizens for |
14 | | Life; he and his wife, Ginger, welcomed refugees from Ukraine, |
15 | | Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina into their home, often for years at |
16 | | a time; and |
17 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson enjoyed fishing with his three sons |
18 | | in their backyard along the DuPage River, tooling around his |
19 | | barn workshop, and tending to a menagerie of horses, chickens, |
20 | | geese, and goats; on Saturdays, he could often be found golfing |
21 | | with his sons and friends; for the last 11 summers, Tom and |
22 | | Ginger ran Camp We-Go G-G, a week-long adventure for their |
23 | | grandchildren at their home with no parents allowed; and
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1 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson was preceded in death by his parents |
2 | | and his sister, Elizabeth (Betty) Rae Johnson; and
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3 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson is survived by his wife of over 50 |
4 | | years, Virginia "Ginger" Van Der Molen Johnson; his sons and |
5 | | their spouses, Soren and Ever (Horan) Johnson and their |
6 | | children, Ever, Owen, Berend, Virginia, and Charlie; Derek |
7 | | Johnson and Carolyn Hutchinson and their children, Vivian and |
8 | | Anders; and Kirk and Marie-Josée (Cantin) Johnson and their |
9 | | children, August and Isidora; his brothers and their spouses, |
10 | | David and Marianne (Hess) Johnson and Paul and Pat (Joslyn) |
11 | | Johnson; 19 nieces and nephews; and 30 great-nieces and |
12 | | nephews; therefore, be it
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13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL |
14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of |
15 | | former Illinois State Senator Thomas Lee "Tom" Johnson and |
16 | | extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all |
17 | | who knew and loved him; and be it further
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18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
19 | | presented to the family of Sen. Johnson as an expression of our |
20 | | deepest sympathy.
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