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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate
are saddened | ||||||
3 | to learn of the death of James B. Burns, who passed away on | ||||||
4 | December 10, 2020; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns' legacy of honesty, fairness, and | ||||||
6 | transparency leaves an indelible mark on the State of | ||||||
7 | Illinois; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was appointed Secretary of State | ||||||
9 | Inspector General by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White | ||||||
10 | in April 2000 as the office had been under a cloud of | ||||||
11 | controversy and corruption prior to White's election; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns, upon taking office, expanded the size | ||||||
13 | of the Inspector General's office, hiring professional | ||||||
14 | investigators from a variety of law enforcement backgrounds; | ||||||
15 | and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns successfully initiated legislation that | ||||||
17 | made the position of Secretary of State Inspector General | ||||||
18 | permanent and broadened its powers to find and remove | ||||||
19 | corruption; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns' successful legislation mandated that |
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1 | the Secretary of State appoint, with the advice and consent of | ||||||
2 | the Illinois Senate, a qualified Inspector General for the | ||||||
3 | purpose of detection and deterrence and prevention of fraud, | ||||||
4 | waste, mismanagement, and misconduct; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns' legislative efforts provided the | ||||||
6 | Inspector General's office with subpoena powers, strong | ||||||
7 | whistleblower protections, audit authority, and protected | ||||||
8 | positions for Inspector General staff; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns implemented several | ||||||
10 | corruption-combating initiatives, including an Audit Review | ||||||
11 | Committee to provide a proactive element to evaluate all audit | ||||||
12 | reports and improve systems and programs within the Secretary | ||||||
13 | of State's office, a hotline and the website ReportItNow.net | ||||||
14 | that allow the public or employees to file complaints, and an | ||||||
15 | office-wide newsletter to communicate announcements with rank | ||||||
16 | and file employees; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns instituted a computer-based case | ||||||
18 | management system to improve efficiency in day-to-day | ||||||
19 | operations of the Secretary of State's office, as well as to | ||||||
20 | provide law enforcement with a means of tracking suspicious | ||||||
21 | conduct patterns; and | ||||||
22 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns worked to strengthen the relationship |
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1 | between the Illinois Secretary of State's office and outside | ||||||
2 | law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Attorney's offices; | ||||||
3 | and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns made it his mission to visit Secretary | ||||||
5 | of State Driver Services facilities statewide in an ongoing | ||||||
6 | effort to foster a transparent and accessible relationship | ||||||
7 | between the Inspector General's office and facility employees; | ||||||
8 | and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns worked tirelessly in his role as | ||||||
10 | Inspector General to help restore integrity and eliminate all | ||||||
11 | forms of institutionalized wrongdoing in the Illinois | ||||||
12 | Secretary of State's office; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns served as a strong, visible, and | ||||||
14 | independent Inspector General for more than 20 years, which | ||||||
15 | resulted in restoring the public trust and changing the | ||||||
16 | culture of the Illinois Secretary of State's office; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was appointed by President Bill Clinton | ||||||
18 | in 1993, at the recommendation of U.S. Senator Paul Simon, as | ||||||
19 | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, a post he | ||||||
20 | held until 1997; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns, as U.S. Attorney for the Northern |
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1 | District of Illinois, managed an office of 250 staff members, | ||||||
2 | including 130 federal prosecutors; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns, as U.S. Attorney for the Northern | ||||||
4 | District of Illinois, prosecuted violent street gangs, public | ||||||
5 | corruption, international drug smugglers, organized crime, | ||||||
6 | white-collar financial fraud, environmental and civil rights | ||||||
7 | violations, government contract fraud, and health care and | ||||||
8 | insurance fraud; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns, prior to his appointment as U.S. | ||||||
10 | Attorney for the Northern District, worked in private practice | ||||||
11 | in Chicago, where he specialized in civil litigation, | ||||||
12 | regulatory matters, sensitive investigations, and white-collar | ||||||
13 | criminal defense; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was a fellow in the American College of | ||||||
15 | Trial Lawyers; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns served as an assistant U.S. Attorney | ||||||
17 | from 1971 to 1978, during which time he tried dozens of cases | ||||||
18 | as a federal prosecutor, eventually attaining the position of | ||||||
19 | Chief of the Criminal Litigation Division; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns played one year of professional | ||||||
21 | basketball; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns earned both his Bachelor of Arts in | ||||||
2 | History in 1967 and his law degree in 1971 from Northwestern | ||||||
3 | University; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was an All-American and Academic | ||||||
5 | All-American basketball player; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was long active in the academic, | ||||||
7 | athletic, and alumni affairs of Northwestern University and | ||||||
8 | served on the Board of Trustees and the Visiting Committee of | ||||||
9 | the School of Law; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns received the Northwestern Alumni | ||||||
11 | Association's Service Award and the Northwestern University's | ||||||
12 | Law School Alumni Merit Award; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was selected in 1992 for the Silver | ||||||
14 | Anniversary All-American Team by the National Association of | ||||||
15 | Basketball Coaches, based on his outstanding basketball and | ||||||
16 | career achievements; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns led McLeansboro High School to fourth | ||||||
18 | place in the state basketball tournament; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was born in Quincy and raised in |
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1 | McLeansboro; he resided in Evanston for much of his adulthood | ||||||
2 | and was a resident of Wilmette at the time of his death; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Jim Burns is survived by his beloved wife, Marty; | ||||||
4 | his three children who filled him with pride, Camille, | ||||||
5 | Heather, and Jim; and a grandson who he loved and adored, | ||||||
6 | Jaany; therefore, be it
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7 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
8 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
mourn the passing of | ||||||
9 | Jim Burns and extend our sincere
condolences to his family, | ||||||
10 | his friends, his many coworkers, including Illinois Secretary | ||||||
11 | of State Jesse White, and all who knew and loved
him; and be it | ||||||
12 | further
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13 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
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14 | presented to the family of Jim Burns as an expression of our
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15 | deepest sympathy.
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