Full Text of HR0910 95th General Assembly
HR0910 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former | 4 |
| State Representative Gene L. Hoffman, formerly of Elmhurst, who | 5 |
| served the 40th District from 1966 to 1990, and who passed away | 6 |
| on December 28, 2007; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Hoffman was born on a farm in Canton on | 8 |
| September 26, 1932; his family moved to Belvidere, where his | 9 |
| parents continued their dual professions of farming and | 10 |
| teaching; he went to Illinois State University, where he was | 11 |
| captain of the championship wrestling team, co-captain of the | 12 |
| football team, and was elected president of the junior class; | 13 |
| he met his first wife, Diana, at the school and they were | 14 |
| married in 1954; she passed away in 1990; and
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| WHEREAS, He graduated from Illinois State University in | 16 |
| 1954 and he was drafted into the United States Army; he served | 17 |
| for two years in Germany; after his discharge, Mr. Hoffman and | 18 |
| his wife moved to Wood Dale, then Elmhurst, and raised four | 19 |
| children; he received his Master's degree and Doctorate from | 20 |
| Northern Illinois University; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Hoffman fulfilled his legislative duties and | 22 |
| also taught social studies and was department chairman at |
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| Fenton High School in Bensenville; fondly known as "Mr. | 2 |
| Education", he was the leading authority on education, school | 3 |
| finance, and school issues in Springfield; as co-chairman of | 4 |
| the Commission on Improvement of Elementary and Secondary | 5 |
| Education, Mr. Hoffman helped author Senate Bill 730, that put | 6 |
| into place practices that are now standard in today's public | 7 |
| schools, such as district report cards, statewide student | 8 |
| assessment exams, tests for basic skills for | 9 |
| teacher-certificate applicants, and teacher evaluations; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Hoffman was chairman of the School Problems | 11 |
| Commission from 1971 to 1973 and again from 1978 to 1984;
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| commission was made up of members of both political parties as | 13 |
| well as members of the public, and became the first stop for | 14 |
| legislation dealing with education; and
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| WHEREAS, During his time in the General Assembly, Mr. | 16 |
| Hoffman was vice chairman of the Joint House/Senate Committee | 17 |
| on Education Reform, vice chairman of the Task Force on | 18 |
| Education for Employment, vice chairman of the Assembly | 19 |
| Retirement System, and chairman of the governor's task force on | 20 |
| pension funding; and | 21 |
| WHEREAS, His dedication to teaching and education earned | 22 |
| him recognition from organizations such as Northern Illinois | 23 |
| University, who awarded him the Distinguished Alumni Award; in |
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| addition, he received the "A-Plus Award" from the Illinois | 2 |
| Education Association, the Legislator of the Year Award from | 3 |
| the National Republican Legislators Association, and the Large | 4 |
| Unit Education District Association's Mr. Education Award; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, After his service concluded in the Illinois House, | 6 |
| Mr. Hoffman worked as a lobbyist for the Chicago Board of | 7 |
| Education, the DuPage County Forest Preserve, the Lake County | 8 |
| Forest Preserve, and the RTA before the General Assembly; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, In 1993, he married Sally Dingman; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, The passing of Gene Hoffman will be deeply felt by | 11 |
| his wife, Sally; his sons, Greg and Mark; his daughters, Lynn | 12 |
| Price and Sue Scharffenberger; his stepsons, Mark Morley and | 13 |
| Steven Morley; his stepdaughter, Kimberly Morley; his sisters, | 14 |
| JoEllen Scambler and Jane Schleeter; and his nineteen | 15 |
| grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 17 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 18 |
| mourn the passing of our former colleague and friend and extend | 19 |
| our sincere condolences to his family at this time; and be it | 20 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| presented to the family of Gene L. Hoffman as an expression of | 2 |
| our sympathy.
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