Full Text of HR0555 95th General Assembly
HR0555 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly wish | 3 |
| to present this resolution as a tribute to and acknowledgement | 4 |
| of Alan J. Dixon's contributions to the State of Illinois and | 5 |
| the nation, as we benefit immensely from his presence in | 6 |
| Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon will celebrate his 80th birthday on | 8 |
| July 7, 2007, and we congratulate him for his distinguished | 9 |
| service to the State of Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon began his 43-year political career | 11 |
| in law school, when he was elected Belleville Police | 12 |
| Magistrate; at the age of 23, he became one of the youngest | 13 |
| legislators ever elected to serve in the Illinois House of | 14 |
| Representatives; and
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| WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon rose through the ranks of State | 16 |
| government as an Illinois State Representative for 12 years | 17 |
| before being elected to the Illinois Senate; and
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| WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon served in the Illinois Senate for 8 | 19 |
| years, rising to Assistant Democratic Leader; in 1970, he was | 20 |
| elected State Treasurer; he has since served as Secretary of | 21 |
| State, an office he won by a margin of 1.3 million votes; he |
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| won re-election to that office by a margin of 1.5 million | 2 |
| votes; that re-election marked the only time a candidate from | 3 |
| either political party ever carried all 102 Illinois counties | 4 |
| in an election, including all 30 townships in suburban Cook | 5 |
| County and all 50 wards in the City of Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon was a gregarious politician and was | 7 |
| known as "Al the Pal" among friends, colleagues, and news | 8 |
| pundits; his staff wore "I'm Al's Pal" campaign buttons during | 9 |
| his 1980 campaign for the United States Senate; he was elected | 10 |
| to the United States Senate that year; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1988 and again in 1990, Alan J. Dixon was | 12 |
| selected by his party colleagues unanimously to serve as the | 13 |
| Chief Deputy Whip of the United States Senate, the number 3 | 14 |
| leadership post; Senator Dixon enjoyed an unbroken string of 29 | 15 |
| election victories; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, At the request of President Clinton, Alan J. Dixon | 17 |
| served as chairman of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment | 18 |
| Commission in 1994 and 1995, a job that called for both defense | 19 |
| experience and good political relationships with both | 20 |
| Democrats and Republicans; as a former chairman of an important | 21 |
| Senate Armed Services Subcommittee, Senator Dixon had the | 22 |
| defense knowledge required for the job; he also got along well | 23 |
| with both Democrats and Republicans; and
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| WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon is presently a partner with the St. | 2 |
| Louis based law firm, Bryan Cave, LLP, where he serves both | 3 |
| corporate and government clients; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 5 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 |
| July 7, 2007 and each subsequent July 7 be known as Alan J. | 7 |
| Dixon Day to recognize the innumerable achievements of Alan J. | 8 |
| Dixon; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 |
| presented to Alan J. Dixon as an expression of our utmost | 11 |
| respect and esteem.
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