Full Text of HR0715 102nd General Assembly
HR0715 102ND 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 Harold | 4 | | Byers of Highland, who passed away on December 9, 2021; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers was born in Folsomville, Indiana to | 6 | | Ella Mae and Harold J. Byers on October 6, 1935; he married | 7 | | Nancy Reinke on December 3, 1955; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers began his career as a teacher and | 9 | | basketball coach for five years; he spent the remainder of his | 10 | | career in the textbook business, first as a sales | 11 | | representative for McGraw-Hill and later as owner of B&B Book | 12 | | Supply; he devoted his entire life to promoting libraries and | 13 | | encouraging people to read and learn; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers served as a state representative in | 15 | | the Illinois General Assembly and was a champion of civil | 16 | | rights and equal rights for all; his support for the Equal | 17 | | Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as a downstate | 18 | | legislator earned him the wrath of Phyllis Schlafly and Anita | 19 | | Bryant, which he proudly wore as a badge of honor; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers was a progressive on civil rights | 21 | | and social issues, though he was a fiscal conservative who |
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| 1 | | believed in balanced budgets, and was a true watchdog of | 2 | | taxpayer dollars; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers' first bill as a freshman legislator | 4 | | changed Illinois history by reforming the manner in which | 5 | | state legislators were paid; on his first day in office, he | 6 | | learned that a century old Illinois law required all | 7 | | legislators to be paid their entire annual salary on the day | 8 | | they were sworn in; he sponsored a bill, now law, that required | 9 | | legislators to be paid on a monthly basis only after they | 10 | | worked each month; his bill and law won the support of 635,138 | 11 | | grateful Illinois voters who signed petitions to help win | 12 | | passage of the long overdue legislative salary reform; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers was a caring legislator who won | 14 | | passage of many important laws, including consumer | 15 | | protections, nursing home reform, political ethics reform, and | 16 | | help for working people who lived from paycheck to paycheck; | 17 | | and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers was fiercely and fearlessly | 19 | | independent as a legislator; he was awarded the Outstanding | 20 | | Legislator Award from the Independent Voters of Illinois for | 21 | | each of the two terms he served in the Illinois House of | 22 | | Representatives; he believed in opening government to the | 23 | | public and press; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers was a member of the Madison County | 2 | | Board for 16 years, where he again served as a watchdog of | 3 | | taxpayer dollars; during his tenure, he became highly | 4 | | distressed that Madison County was without a county health | 5 | | department; he was disturbed that county residents were forced | 6 | | to travel to adjacent counties, Bond and Clinton, to obtain | 7 | | vaccinations for their young children; he therefore, as an | 8 | | advocate for good healthcare for all, was instrumental in the | 9 | | establishment of the Madison County Health Department; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers served on the Metro East Park and | 11 | | Recreation District, helping to improve the district's park | 12 | | system for the betterment of the Metro-East area; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers was appointed to the Illinois State | 14 | | Board of Elections by Governor Pat Quinn, where he served for a | 15 | | number of years and worked tirelessly to assure Illinois | 16 | | elections remained free and fair for all; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Every year on his birthday, Harold Byers and his | 18 | | wife Nancy organized a bean dinner at their home, where dozens | 19 | | of friends came to celebrate and raise funds for the local food | 20 | | pantry; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers was a member of the Evangelical |
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| 1 | | United Church of Christ in Highland; he had a generous spirit | 2 | | and lived his life to the fullest, enjoying his travels across | 3 | | America and his worldwide excursions; he enjoyed attending | 4 | | sporting events and was an avid fan of both horse racing and | 5 | | the Chicago Cubs; he was thrilled to see his Cubs win the 2016 | 6 | | World Series and proudly attended one of the World Series | 7 | | games in Chicago to root for his team; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers was preceded in death by his | 9 | | parents; his sister, Elaine Grundhoefer; his brother, Ronald | 10 | | Byers; and his daughter-in-law, Deborah Byers; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Harold Byers is survived by his loving wife of 66 | 12 | | years, Nancy; his children, Cheryl Byers, Sheila Byers (Rich | 13 | | Ullman), Keith (Patricia) Byers, Lana (Willard) Herman, Greg | 14 | | (Jane) Byers, Jeff Byers (Angela Schmidt), and Phil Byers; his | 15 | | grandchildren, Mandy Eyrich, Kim Fulton, Ashley Dickey, | 16 | | Margaret Byers, Eric Byers, Katelyn Kuk, Catherine Byers, Tara | 17 | | Byers, Maxwell Byers, Jennifer Ullman, Elaine Herman, Peter | 18 | | Byers, and Hannah Clifford; his great-grandchildren, Emmaline | 19 | | Eyrich, Spencer Eyrich, Emmalyn Dickey, Nora Dickey, Henry | 20 | | Dean Byers, Briella Byers, Miles Fulton, Grayson Davis, and | 21 | | Cameron Kuk, with two more on the way; and his brothers, Gary | 22 | | and Sam Byers; therefore, be it
| 23 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
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| 1 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 2 | | we mourn the passing of Harold Dean Byers 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 Harold Byers as an expression of our | 7 | | deepest sympathy.
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