Full Text of HR0490 98th General Assembly
HR0490 98TH 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 Illinois | 4 | | Supreme Court Justice John L. Nickels of Sugar Grove; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels was born on January 16, 1931, | 6 | | in Aurora; his parents were Philip and Gertrude Nickels; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels grew up in Sugar Grove, where | 8 | | he spent his early educational years in a one-room school house | 9 | | with 14 other students; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels attended and graduated from | 11 | | Marmion Military Academy; he subsequently continued his | 12 | | education at Northern Illinois University, where he earned a | 13 | | bachelor's degree in business, and Northwestern University, | 14 | | where he studied trust administration; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels earned his Juris Doctorate | 16 | | from DePaul University before graduating from the National | 17 | | Judicial College; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, In 1954, Justice John Nickels entered the United | 19 | | States Army, where he supported his brothers in arms overseas | 20 | | by working in aircraft maintenance; he also trained for work in |
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| 1 | | control towers while being stationed in both Texas and | 2 | | Louisiana; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, After being honorably discharged in 1956, Justice | 4 | | John Nickels married Merita Smith at Holy Cross Catholic Church | 5 | | in Batavia on June 22, 1957; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels and his wife began their new | 7 | | life in DeKalb, where he attended Northern Illinois University | 8 | | until they moved to Chicago during his law school years; while | 9 | | Justice Nickels established his practice, he called Batavia | 10 | | home, although he eventually settled in Maple Park; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels was a man who never stopped | 12 | | learning; his iron-clad work ethic was forged on the farm, | 13 | | tending both his fields and livestock; Justice Nickels always | 14 | | strove to be the best, no matter his station in life, and | 15 | | adapted those bedrock values to catapult from a trial lawyer to | 16 | | senior partner in his own firm, where he practiced in DeKalb, | 17 | | Kane, and Kendall Counties; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels rose to the challenge of | 19 | | becoming a Circuit Court Judge in 1982 and an Appellate Court | 20 | | Judge in 1990; he eventually retired as a Justice on the | 21 | | Illinois Supreme Court in 1998; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels heard and participated in 820 | 2 | | cases; he authored 95 majority opinions, 45 dissenting | 3 | | opinions, and 10 special concurring opinions during his time on | 4 | | the Illinois Supreme Court; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, During the 1990s, Justice John Nickels acted as | 6 | | the Supreme Court liaison to the Lawyers Trust Fund, where he | 7 | | worked to increase access to justice for low-income citizens | 8 | | and find funding for legal aid programs throughout Illinois; | 9 | | and | 10 | | WHEREAS, One of the majority opinions Justice John Nickels | 11 | | authored struck down Chicago's gang loitering ordinance as | 12 | | unconstitutional; the case was heard by the United States | 13 | | Supreme Court, which upheld Justice Nickels' decision; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Through all of Justice John Nickels' | 15 | | accomplishments and accolades, he was forever a farmer at | 16 | | heart; his roots ran deep into the hills and valleys of the | 17 | | countryside and he was never happier than when he was | 18 | | surrounded by his loving family; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels will be dearly missed by his | 20 | | loving wife, Merita; his children, Mary (James) Himic, | 21 | | Jacqueline (David) Beane, Margaret (Kenneth) Mangers, Lisa | 22 | | (Joseph) Edmeier, Philip (Sara) Nickels, Ruth Anne |
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| 1 | | (Jean-Baptiste) Philippot, and Gertrude (Peter) Filipos; his | 2 | | 23 grandchildren; his great-grandson; his sisters, Jean Morris | 3 | | and Phyllis Nickels; and his many nieces, nephews, cousins, and | 4 | | friends; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 6 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 7 | | we mourn, along with his family, friends, and the citizens of | 8 | | Illinois, the passing of Justice John L. Nickels; and be it | 9 | | further
| 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to the family of Justice John Nickels as a symbol of | 12 | | our sympathy.
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