Full Text of SR0624 102nd General Assembly
SR0624 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of former Illinois State Senator and | 4 | | United States Congressman Harris Fawell, who passed away on | 5 | | November 11, 2021; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell was born to Walter and Mildred | 7 | | Fawell on March 25, 1929; he graduated from West Chicago | 8 | | Community High School and attended North Central College; | 9 | | baseball was a family passion, and he, along with his | 10 | | brothers, Tom, Bruce, and Mike, played in the Fox Valley | 11 | | league, which was organized by their father and in which they | 12 | | earned the nickname The Fighting Fawells, due to their | 13 | | competitive zeal; he earned a brief stint with a Detroit | 14 | | Tigers minor league affiliation in Greenville, South Carolina | 15 | | during his college years; he received his Juris Doctorate from | 16 | | the Kent College of Law in 1952; that same year, he married | 17 | | Ruth Johnson; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell served as an Assistant State's | 19 | | Attorney for DuPage County and then practiced law, first in | 20 | | West Chicago and then in Naperville; he was a senior partner | 21 | | with the law firm of Fawell, James and Brooks; during the | 22 | | 1950s, he chaired a committee that helped defeat an effort to | 23 | | establish a horse racetrack in Naperville, an accomplishment |
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| 1 | | that earned him a loyal following when he turned to politics; | 2 | | and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell served in the Illinois State | 4 | | Senate from 1963 to 1977; he was named Outstanding Freshman | 5 | | State Senator by the Illinois Press Association; he sponsored | 6 | | the legislation that provided parks for special needs children | 7 | | and adults throughout the State; he supported legislation that | 8 | | would have compelled developers to donate park land to | 9 | | communities in which they gained their fortune, which did not | 10 | | become law but was the precursor for the Naperville Land Cash | 11 | | Donation Ordinance, which he spearheaded and which resulted in | 12 | | the acquisition of acres of park land in Naperville; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell was elected to the U.S. | 14 | | Congress in 1985 and served there until 1999; he co-founded | 15 | | the Porkbusters Coalition; he was the chief sponsor of 23 | 16 | | bills that eliminated $2 billion in pork barrel projects; he | 17 | | was also known for his expertise in labor and health issues and | 18 | | for his efforts to provide more equitable healthcare to | 19 | | workers in small businesses; he was a Republican moderate and | 20 | | a fiscal conservative and was popular with taxpayer and | 21 | | business groups but also earned high marks from environmental | 22 | | and women's rights groups; he was one of only two Republican | 23 | | state senators who helped pass Fair Housing legislation in the | 24 | | 1960s; he publicly supported Barack Obama in 2008; he was an |
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| 1 | | atypical politician, preferring to keep a low profile rather | 2 | | than grab headlines, a man with a low-key demeanor and a human | 3 | | touch; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell wrote articles on Servant | 5 | | Leadership that appeared in The International Journal of | 6 | | Servant Leadership at Gonzaga University; these essays | 7 | | reflected his interest in labor relations, an interest which | 8 | | had deepened during his time on the Education and Labor | 9 | | Committee in the House of Representatives; he also served on | 10 | | the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, North Central | 11 | | College; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell was a member of the Community | 13 | | United Methodist Church in Naperville; he knew scores of old | 14 | | jazz standards by heart and had a taste for American doggerel | 15 | | and folk poetry; he was wise, philosophical, patient, | 16 | | empathetic, and understanding; he had a subtle and sometimes | 17 | | biting sense of humor and a playful gift for language; he had a | 18 | | deep and abiding interest in spiritual issues and literature; | 19 | | and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell is survived by his wife of 69 | 21 | | years, Ruth; his children, Richard (Yvonne), Jane (Robert | 22 | | Heap), and John (Yvette Begue); and eight grandchildren and | 23 | | seven great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 3 | | former Illinois State Senator and United States Congressman | 4 | | Harris Fawell and extend our sincere condolences to his | 5 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 6 | | further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to the family of Congressman Fawell as an expression | 9 | | of our deepest sympathy.
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