Full Text of SR1349 101st General Assembly
SR1349 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Governor James "Big Jim" Thompson was born in Oak | 3 | | Park to J. Robert and Agnes Thompson on May 8, 1936; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson attended Samuel Morse Grade | 5 | | School, North Park Academy, the University of Illinois at | 6 | | Chicago, and Northwestern University; he earned a juris | 7 | | doctorate from Northeastern University in 1959; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson married Jayne Carr, also of Oak | 9 | | Park, and they had a daughter, Samantha; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson was dedicated to public service | 11 | | and served as prosecutor in Cook County from 1959 to 1964; he | 12 | | then took a position as an associate professor at Northwestern | 13 | | University Law School and co-authored several textbooks; he | 14 | | accepted a position in the Illinois Attorney General's Office | 15 | | in 1969, serving as chief of the Department of Law Enforcement | 16 | | and Public Protection; he became a first assistant U.S. | 17 | | attorney in 1970; he was appointed a U.S. attorney in 1971, a | 18 | | position he used to address public corruption and voter fraud | 19 | | in Cook County; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson successfully ran on the | 21 | | Republican ticket for governor of Illinois in 1976 and was |
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| 1 | | subsequently re-elected in 1978, 1982, and 1986, becoming the | 2 | | longest-serving governor in Illinois history, serving from | 3 | | 1977 to 1991; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson is credited for his tireless | 5 | | efforts to benefit the State of Illinois; he is particularly | 6 | | remembered for navigating the State through the economic | 7 | | malaise of the 1970s to the economic prosperity of the 1980s, | 8 | | retaining the Chicago White Sox in Illinois, creating the | 9 | | Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, and constructing the | 10 | | Chicago office building, the James R. Thompson Center, that now | 11 | | bears his name; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, After his retirement from public office, Governor | 13 | | Thompson joined the Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn and | 14 | | continued to serve the public on a number of boards and | 15 | | commissions, most notably the 9-11 Commission; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson passed away August 14, 2020, at | 17 | | the age of 84 at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago; his | 18 | | death elicited praise for and commemoration of his service to | 19 | | the State of Illinois from Republicans and Democrats alike; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, his | 21 | | family has chosen not to hold a public funeral or memorial | 22 | | service at this time; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare January 10, | 3 | | 2021 as Governor James "Big Jim" Thompson Day in the State of | 4 | | Illinois in recognition of the forty-fourth anniversary of his | 5 | | inauguration as governor and to recognize Governor Thompson's | 6 | | tireless leadership in the development and promotion of the | 7 | | State of Illinois; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to Jayne Thompson as a symbol of our respect and | 10 | | esteem.
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