Full Text of HR0267 103rd General Assembly
HR0267 103RD 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 Newton | 4 | | N. Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications | 5 | | Commission (FCC), who passed away on May 6, 2023; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Newton Minow was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on | 7 | | January 17, 1926; he served as a U.S. Army sergeant in the | 8 | | China-Burma-India Theater during World War II; he attended | 9 | | Northwestern University, where he served as editor-in-chief of | 10 | | the Illinois Law Review, known today as the Northwestern | 11 | | University Law Review, and earned his bachelor's degree in | 12 | | 1949 and his Juris Doctor in 1950; he married Josephine "Jo" | 13 | | Baskin in 1949, and she preceded him in death in February 2022; | 14 | | and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, After graduating from law school, Newton Minow | 16 | | served as law clerk to the Honorable Fred M. Vinson, Chief | 17 | | Justice of the United States, and then as assistant counsel to | 18 | | Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, during which he first | 19 | | suggested televised presidential debates in a memo to the | 20 | | governor in 1955; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Newton Minow was appointed as chairman of the FCC | 22 | | by President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s; he drafted |
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| 1 | | legislation that expanded the broadcast spectrum, known as the | 2 | | All-Channel Receiver Act (ACRA) of 1962, and promoted the | 3 | | implementation of communication satellite technology; during | 4 | | his tenure, he additionally cemented presidential debates as a | 5 | | national institution and vigorously supported children's | 6 | | programming, leading the way for the creation of the Public | 7 | | Broadcasting Service (PBS); he served in the Kennedy | 8 | | Administration until 1963 and became executive vice president | 9 | | and general counsel of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Newton Minow returned to Chicago in 1965, joining | 11 | | the law firm of Leibman, Williams, Bennett, Baird & Minow, | 12 | | which merged with Sidley & Austin in 1972 before merging with | 13 | | Brown & Wood in 2001; he was a partner at Sidley Austin, LLP | 14 | | from 1965 until 1991, at which time he became senior counsel; | 15 | | he additionally authored five books and wrote numerous | 16 | | articles; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Newton Minow remained active in Democratic | 18 | | politics and with the Commission on Presidential Debates | 19 | | (CPD), including co-chairing the 1976 and 1980 presidential | 20 | | debates; he was involved in every organizing presidential | 21 | | debate since then, serving on the CPD until last year; he also | 22 | | served on commissions appointed by presidents of both | 23 | | political parties; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Newton Minow maintained a lifelong relationship | 2 | | with Northwestern University, joining its board of trustees in | 3 | | 1975, where he served for nearly five decades, and becoming a | 4 | | life trustee in 1987; he received the Northwestern Alumni | 5 | | Medal in 1978; he was also the Walter Annenberg Professor | 6 | | Emeritus of communications and law and was the director of the | 7 | | Annenberg Washington Program in Communications Policy Studies | 8 | | of Northwestern University; he became the namesake of an | 9 | | endowment for a named professorship at Northwestern University | 10 | | Pritzker School of Law in 2014 through funding by a consortium | 11 | | of his personal friends, fellow alumni, and colleagues at | 12 | | Sidley Austin, which also established the Newton and Jo Minow | 13 | | Debate Series at the Law School, the first of which was held in | 14 | | November 2015; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Newton Minow served as a director of many | 16 | | companies, including the Aon Corporation, CBS, the Sara Lee | 17 | | Corporation, Manpower, Inc., the Tribune Company, and Foote, | 18 | | Cone & Belding Communications, Inc.; he was a former chairman | 19 | | of the RAND Corporation, trustee emeritus of the Mayo Clinic, | 20 | | a life trustee of the University of Notre Dame, a former | 21 | | trustee and chairman of the Carnegie Corporation, and former | 22 | | chairman of PBS; and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, Newton Minow was named one of 21 recipients of | 24 | | the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest |
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| 1 | | civilian honor, by President Barack Obama in 2016; he was also | 2 | | the recipient of the American Bar Association Silver Gavel | 3 | | Award, the Chicago Bar Association John Paul Stevens Award, | 4 | | the Federal Communications Bar Association Lifetime | 5 | | Achievement Award, and the American Lawyer Lifetime | 6 | | Achievement Award; he was the recipient of several honorary | 7 | | degrees, including from Brandeis University, the University of | 8 | | Wisconsin, Northwestern University, and the University of | 9 | | Notre Dame; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Newton Minow was a mentor, friend, | 11 | | philanthropist, leader, and an icon throughout his many years | 12 | | of service in the public and private sectors; he was | 13 | | kind-hearted to all those he encountered and never shied from | 14 | | an opportunity to speak openly and frankly about something in | 15 | | which he believed; he was known for his leadership, brilliant | 16 | | insights, warmth, and sense of humor; he will be remembered | 17 | | for the incredible contributions he made to society and the | 18 | | nation; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Newton Minow is survived by his children, Martha, | 20 | | Nell, and Mary Minow, and three grandchildren; therefore, be | 21 | | it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 23 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
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| 1 | | we mourn the passing of Newton N. Minow, former chairman of the | 2 | | Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and extend our | 3 | | sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew | 4 | | and loved him; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 | | presented to the family of Newton Minow as an expression of our | 7 | | deepest sympathy.
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