Full Text of HR0868 102nd General Assembly
HR0868 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former | 4 | | Illinois State Representative and U.S. Congressman Timothy | 5 | | Vincent "Tim" Johnson, who passed away on May 9, 2022 at his | 6 | | home in Urbana, among family and friends; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Lifelong Champaign County native and resident | 8 | | Congressman Johnson was born on July 23, 1946 in Champaign; he | 9 | | pursued his education in the twin cities of his birth, | 10 | | graduating from Urbana High School in 1964 and then attending | 11 | | the University of Illinois; he earned a bachelor's degree in | 12 | | 1969 (Phi Beta Kappa) and a juris doctorate in 1972 (Order of | 13 | | the Coif); and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Even more significant to Congressman Johnson than | 15 | | these academic honors was his family heritage; on his mother's | 16 | | side, his grandfather was McLean County Republican stalwart | 17 | | Arthur Evans; his own father, Robert Johnson, followed the | 18 | | path of public service for many years in Champaign County, | 19 | | rising to membership of the Urbana City Council and serving as | 20 | | the Chairman of the Champaign County Republican Party; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Even in the 1960's, Champaign County was not | 22 | | quite as Republican as other downstate Illinois counties; |
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| 1 | | Congressman Johnson's father, despite his partisan role, | 2 | | developed a reputation as a can-do problem solver who would | 3 | | work with neighbors of both parties to get things done for | 4 | | Champaign-Urbana; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, During his time in law school and after | 6 | | graduation, Congressman Johnson served as a teaching assistant | 7 | | in the U of I's College of Commerce and College of Law; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, While in law school, Congressman Johnson turned | 9 | | his attention to politics, seeking and winning his father's | 10 | | seat on the Urbana City Council, on which his service began in | 11 | | 1971; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Upon the retirement of Rep. John C. Hirschfeld in | 13 | | 1976, Congressman Johnson sought the nomination for what was | 14 | | then an open Republican seat in the 52nd District, which | 15 | | encompassed part of Champaign County as well as Douglas and | 16 | | Moultrie Counties; in a six-candidate race, he won the | 17 | | nomination, having not yet celebrated his 30th birthday; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Elected to the Illinois House of Representatives | 19 | | in the fall of America's bicentennial year, Congressman | 20 | | Johnson began a 24 year career in Illinois's largest | 21 | | legislative chamber; working with the House Judiciary II – | 22 | | Criminal Law Committee, he made many suggestions to improve |
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| 1 | | the criminal laws of Illinois; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, As a powerful voice for downstate Illinois, | 3 | | Congressman Johnson was named Deputy Minority Leader by House | 4 | | Republican Leader Lee A. Daniels, serving in this role | 5 | | continuously except in 1995-96 when Republicans organized the | 6 | | Illinois House and his role was that of Illinois House Deputy | 7 | | Majority Leader; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, In 2000, upon the retirement of Congressman Tom | 9 | | Ewing, Congressman Johnson took the opportunity to seek | 10 | | nomination and election from his east central Illinois home to | 11 | | the United States House of Representatives; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, As a member of Congress, Congressman Johnson | 13 | | served on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure | 14 | | Committee and the U.S. House Agriculture Committee; in this | 15 | | latter committee, he served as the chairman of the | 16 | | Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, | 17 | | and Foreign Agriculture; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, As a member of Congress and of the Agriculture | 19 | | and Transportation Committees, Congressman Johnson placed | 20 | | corn-based ethanol and America-grown biodiesel fuels at the | 21 | | center of American life; facing down some of America's largest | 22 | | business firms, he worked with other corn belt lawmakers to |
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| 1 | | successfully demand that ethanol-blended motor fuels become | 2 | | the octane enhancer of choice at American motor fuel retail | 3 | | pumps nationwide; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Johnson was a member of many | 5 | | congressional caucuses; as the partisan gap between the two | 6 | | parties widened in Washington and elsewhere, and remembering | 7 | | his father's heritage of working across the aisle, he was the | 8 | | co-founder and Co-chairman of the Center Aisle Caucus; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Johnson took care to stay in touch | 10 | | with his constituents back home in Illinois; many homes in | 11 | | central Illinois remember their phone ringing on some evening | 12 | | and hearing the voice of their old friend checking in with | 13 | | them, asking how they were doing, and seeking nonpartisan | 14 | | advice on the great issues of the day; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, After 12 years in the U.S. House, Congressman | 16 | | Johnson decided, in 2012, that his work was done; he returned | 17 | | home to central Illinois and resumed a schedule of public | 18 | | teaching, including appointments at Illinois State University | 19 | | (2013-2014), Danville Area Community College (2014), and the | 20 | | College of Liberal Arts at his alma mater, the University of | 21 | | Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2014); and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, In 2013, Congressman Johnson was awarded the |
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| 1 | | Order of Lincoln by the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, the | 2 | | highest-ranking honor that an Illinoisan can receive for | 3 | | service to the people; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 5 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 | | we mourn the passing of former Illinois State Representative | 7 | | and U.S. Congressman Timothy Vincent "Tim" Johnson and extend | 8 | | our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who | 9 | | knew and loved him; and be it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That we recognize the lengthy public service of | 11 | | Congressman Johnson; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That the heritage of American elected officials | 13 | | reaching out to their constituents of both parties, talking to | 14 | | them, asking for advice, and acting as their public servants | 15 | | rather than as their masters is a memory that is flickering but | 16 | | can never fade away; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to Congressman Johnson's daughter, Heather | 19 | | Stephenson.
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