Full Text of SR0111 94th General Assembly
SR0111 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | 3 |
| learned with regret of the death of Clifford T. Johnson of | 4 |
| River Forest on Friday, February 25, 2005; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson was born on a dairy farm in Beresford, | 6 |
| South Dakota; after leaving high school early to help deliver | 7 |
| milk, he returned to high school and graduated in 1934; he then | 8 |
| went to Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to | 9 |
| become a Lutheran minister; while there, he connected with the | 10 |
| school's radio station and was told he had a strong speaking | 11 |
| voice; and
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| WHEREAS, He met his wife, Luella, in Sioux Falls, South | 13 |
| Dakota, and in 1938, they were married; they moved to Lincoln, | 14 |
| Nebraska, where he worked for Central States Network, then | 15 |
| moved to KOIL in Omaha; he was soon noticed and signed with | 16 |
| WBBM in Chicago in 1941; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1942, Mr. Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Navy and | 18 |
| served stateside until 1945; he returned to WBBM and was host | 19 |
| of "Meet the Missus", "Shopping with the Missus", and "Listen | 20 |
| to Cliff"; he caught the notice of Philip K. Wrigley, who | 21 |
| signed him at KNX Radio, an affiliate of CBS in Hollywood; | 22 |
| there he filled in for Jack Bailey during his show "Queen for a | 23 |
| Day" and once for Art Linkletter and his segment "Kids Say the | 24 |
| Darndest Things", which sparked Mr. Johnson's "Breakfast with | 25 |
| the Johnsons" idea; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1946, the family moved back to Chicago, and Mr. | 27 |
| Johnson began broadcasting "Breakfast With the Johnsons" from | 28 |
| their home, a show that included his four daughters and one son | 29 |
| at the breakfast table; the show was a regular segment from | 30 |
| 1947 until 1958 and often included surprise visits from the | 31 |
| milk man or the minister; it was a forerunner of today's |
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| reality television shows; and
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| WHEREAS, He later became host of "Sounds of Europe" and | 3 |
| received the Dwight Eisenhower Award for his broadcast reports | 4 |
| from 11 European countries; he also served as managing editor | 5 |
| from 1964 to 1968 at WNUS, the first all-news station in | 6 |
| Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson left radio in 1968 to start Lucliff | 8 |
| Realty in Oak Park, and in 1970, launched Cliff Johnson Travel | 9 |
| Agency, which he sold in 1995; and
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| WHEREAS, At the age of 77, he returned to college and | 11 |
| received his bachelor's degree in communications from | 12 |
| Concordia University in River Forest; ten years later, he | 13 |
| received a master's degree in theology; he served on | 14 |
| Concordia's Foundation Board of Directors for two terms and was | 15 |
| a university communication consultant for 15 years; and
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| WHEREAS, In recent years, he produced cable shows aired on | 17 |
| the Oak Park-River Forest access cable station; he earned a | 18 |
| cable award for his work on a program on the Judeo-Christian | 19 |
| culture present in the community; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, In 1985, Mr. Johnson founded Oak Park's Volunteer | 21 |
| Center; he was a member of the Oak Park-River Forest Rotary | 22 |
| Club and was the recipient of the club's Carl S. Winters | 23 |
| Community Service Award in 2004; he also served as president of | 24 |
| the Rotary and Lions clubs and the American Society of Travel | 25 |
| Agents; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Clifford T. Johnson has been deeply | 27 |
| felt by many, especially his daughters, Sandra Mueller, Linda | 28 |
| Geer, Pamela Cornell, and Vicki Riordan; his son, Clifford Jr.; | 29 |
| his sister, Doris Burkhart-Thurk; and his 15 grandchildren and | 30 |
| 13 great-grandchildren; his wife, Luella, preceded him in death |
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| in 1993; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 3 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 4 |
| Clifford T. Johnson, whose sterling character and pleasing | 5 |
| personality will be long remembered, and we extend our sincere | 6 |
| condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved | 7 |
| him; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 10 |
| sympathy.
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