Full Text of SR0983 95th General Assembly
SR0983 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate and the people | 3 |
| of the State of Illinois are losing a man dedicated to making | 4 |
| changes in State government, a man who has worked hard for | 5 |
| education reform, a man dedicated to helping those less | 6 |
| fortunate in the State, and a man who has become a familiar | 7 |
| face in Illinois politics; and
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| WHEREAS, The Honorable Emil Jones, Jr., has been a member | 9 |
| of the Illinois General Assembly since 1973; as a member of the | 10 |
| Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983, he served | 11 |
| as an Assistant Democratic Leader and Chairman of the Insurance | 12 |
| Committee; and
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| WHEREAS, Elected to the Senate in 1982, Senator Jones is | 14 |
| currently a member of the Senate Executive Committee; Senator | 15 |
| Jones is a strong proponent of social justice, fair and | 16 |
| adequate funding of public education in Illinois, and | 17 |
| affordable health care for Illinois families; and
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| WHEREAS, On January 10, 2007, Emil Jones, Jr. received the | 19 |
| unanimous support of the members of the Senate Democratic | 20 |
| Caucus to be elected Senate President in the 95th General | 21 |
| Assembly, his third term as the Senate's chief presiding | 22 |
| officer; Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles Freeman |
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| administered the oath of office to Senate President Emil Jones, | 2 |
| Jr. as his family, friends, and colleagues witnessed the event; | 3 |
| the 95th General Assembly marked the first time in 70 years, | 4 |
| and the first time since the implementation of the 1970 State | 5 |
| Constitution, that Democrats held a veto-proof majority in the | 6 |
| Illinois Senate; President Jones' hard work and determination | 7 |
| led Senate Democrats to take an unprecedented five additional | 8 |
| seats to secure a super-majority, the only chamber in the | 9 |
| General Assembly to realize such advances; and
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| WHEREAS, Senator Jones has been a strong supporter of | 11 |
| education issues throughout his service in the Illinois General | 12 |
| Assembly; as Senate President, Senator Jones passed the largest | 13 |
| one-year increase in the foundation level in the history of the | 14 |
| State; the $600 million increase in Fiscal Year 2008 provided | 15 |
| an additional $400 per student in public school funding, | 16 |
| bringing the foundation level to $5,734; President Jones has | 17 |
| also been a strong proponent of early childhood education and | 18 |
| since 2003 has worked to provide nearly $200 million to invest | 19 |
| in the future of pre-school age children; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, As Senate President, Senator Jones worked to | 21 |
| provide and protect the interests of downstate Illinois, | 22 |
| including: blocking efforts to repeal the tax break for farmers | 23 |
| on feed, seed, and farm chemicals, supporting funds for ethanol | 24 |
| plants, clean coal projects, and promoting historic efforts |
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| such as the Woodlawn Farm in Morgan County and New Philadelphia | 2 |
| in Pike County; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, Under President Jones' leadership, the Illinois | 4 |
| General Assembly passed one of the most comprehensive reform | 5 |
| measures of the criminal justice system in the history of the | 6 |
| State; among the many substantive changes put forward by | 7 |
| Senator Jones was the passage of legislation to videotape | 8 |
| interrogations in capital cases; the passage of this single | 9 |
| piece of legislation put Illinois at the forefront of the | 10 |
| nation as the first State to require that interrogations in | 11 |
| capital cases be videotaped; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, Other significant legislation that Senator Jones | 13 |
| sponsored during his legislative career includes legislation | 14 |
| to require State law-enforcement officials to collect data on | 15 |
| racial profiling; a bill to require equal pay for equal work; a | 16 |
| prescription drug discount program for senior and disabled | 17 |
| citizens; two increases in the minimum wage; legislation that | 18 |
| directed millions of State dollars for disadvantaged public | 19 |
| school students to classroom needs, rather than administrative | 20 |
| needs; legislation to double the personal exemption on the | 21 |
| State income tax in 1998 to benefit working families who had | 22 |
| not received an increase since 1969; prohibited smoking on the | 23 |
| floor of the Illinois Senate; and an effort to secure an | 24 |
| individual's right to choose a clinical social worker over a |
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| psychiatrist; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, For his legislative and community endeavors, | 3 |
| Senator Jones has received numerous awards from educational, | 4 |
| business, health care, and labor organizations, among others; | 5 |
| perhaps the greatest honor being the dedication of the Emil and | 6 |
| Patricia A. Jones Convocation Center at Chicago State | 7 |
| University; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Emil Jones is a 1953 graduate of Chicago's Tilden | 9 |
| Technical High School; he graduated from Loop Junior College; | 10 |
| he attended Roosevelt University, majoring in Business | 11 |
| Administration, where he received the Doctorate of Humane | 12 |
| Letters Honoris Causa Degree in 2004; Senator Jones received an | 13 |
| honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at Chicago State | 14 |
| University for his considerable contributions to public | 15 |
| service and promoting greater educational opportunities at | 16 |
| Chicago State; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, Senator Jones was the only African-American | 18 |
| Senate President in the nation from 2003 to 2007; he is the | 19 |
| longest-serving leader of Senate Democrats since the 1970 | 20 |
| Constitution; in 2004, he was named to the Board of Directors | 21 |
| of the Forum of Senate Presidents, an organization of | 22 |
| nationwide Senate Presidents in the United States; he also | 23 |
| serves on the Board of Directors of the State Legislative |
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| Leaders Foundation; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, In 2004, President Jones was inducted into the Phi | 3 |
| Theta Kappa International Honor Society of Harold Washington | 4 |
| College;
he is a life-long resident of Chicago's South Side, | 5 |
| and he is a member of Holy Name of Mary Church, the Knights of | 6 |
| St. Peter Claver, the National Black Caucus of State | 7 |
| Legislators, the National Conference of State Legislators, | 8 |
| Board of Directors of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, | 9 |
| and the Shriners; and he is a 33rd degree Mason and a former | 10 |
| Boy Scout Master; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Senator Jones is also a lifesaver; in 2003, while | 12 |
| dining out with his wife in a local Springfield restaurant, | 13 |
| President Jones noticed a woman at a nearby table who was | 14 |
| choking; without hesitation, Senator Jones jumped from his | 15 |
| chair and performed the Heimlich maneuver on the woman, saving | 16 |
| her life; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, Senator Jones has four children and is married to | 18 |
| Dr. Lorrie Jones; his son, Emil Jones III, will soon take his | 19 |
| father's seat on the Illinois Senate floor, continuing to | 20 |
| represent the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL | 22 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Senate |
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| President Emil Jones on his retirement; the Senate floor will | 2 |
| be a different place without his stately presence; and he will | 3 |
| be sorely missed by his colleagues, constituents, and the | 4 |
| people of the State of Illinois; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 |
| presented to Senate President Emil Jones as a symbol of our | 7 |
| great respect and esteem.
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