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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of former Illinois State Representative
4and United States Congressman John Edward Porter of
5Alexandria, Virginia, formerly of Evanston, who passed away on
6June 3, 2022; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was born in Evanston on June
81, 1935; he graduated from Evanston Township High School in
91953; he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
10from 1953 to 1954; he received his Bachelor of Science and
11Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University in 1957; he
12earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law
13School in 1961; he served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1958
14to 1964; he was admitted into the Illinois Bar in 1961; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was an honor law graduate
16attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington,
17D.C. from 1961 to 1963 before entering private practice in
18Evanston from 1963 to 1979; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Congressman Porter served as a member of the
20Illinois General Assembly from 1973 to 1979; while in office,
21he was successful in passing legislation that created
22government inducements to carpooling, denied pension rights to

 

 

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1public officials convicted of a felony, prohibited flammable
2tents and outdoor-use fabrics, and required disclosure of
3secret beneficiaries of land trusts involved in business with
4state government; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was elected as a Republican to
6represent the 10th District of the State of Illinois in the
796th U.S. Congress by special election, filling the vacancy
8caused by the resignation of U.S. Representative Abner J.
9Mikva; he was reelected to the 10 succeeding Congresses,
10representing the North Shore, the northwest suburbs, and
11eastern Lake County of Illinois from January 22, 1980 to
12January 3, 2001; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was a member of the U.S. House
14Appropriations Committee and served as chairman of the
15Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
16Services, Education, and Related Agencies; under his
17leadership, the educational and health-related programs of
18federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health
19(NIH), flourished; he additionally founded and co-chaired the
20Congressional Human Rights Caucus, a voluntary association of
21more than 250 members of Congress working to identify,
22monitor, and end human rights violations worldwide; he also
23co-authored landmark legislation, created Radio Free Asia, and
24served as chairman of Global Legislators Organized for a

 

 

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1Balanced Environment, known as GLOBE USA; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Upon his retirement from Congress, Congressman
3Porter became a partner in the international law firm Hogan
4Hartson, now Hogan Lovells, where he represented Northwestern
5University in Washington, D.C. for several years, securing
6more than $45 million in projects for the university; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Congressman Porter served as a delegate to the
8Republican National Convention in 1996; he additionally served
9on several boards over the years, including the PBS
10Foundation, the First Focus Campaign for Children, the
11Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the
12Bretton Woods Committee, the Inter-American Dialogue, the
13Council on Foreign Relations, the RAND Corporation, and the
14American Heart Association; he previously chaired the
15non-profit Research!America and served as a trustee of the
16Brookings Institution and the John F. Kennedy Center for the
17Performing Arts; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Congressman Porter received an honorary Doctor of
19Laws degree from Northwestern University in 1999 and the
20Public Welfare Medal by the National Academy of Sciences in
212014; he was chosen as the namesake of NIH's Neuroscience
22Research Center, which was dedicated in March 2014, and a
23professorship of biomedical research at Northwestern

 

 

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1University's Feinberg School of Medicine was established in
2his name in 2001; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Congressman Porter was known as a fiscal
4conservative who held moderate social views; he will be
5remembered for his tireless advocacy of biomedical research,
6the environment, and international human rights; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Congressman Porter is survived by his spouse of
815 years, Amy McGuire Porter; his children and stepchildren,
9John, David, Annie, Robyn, Donna, McKay, and Michelle; and his
1014 grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
12ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
13former Illinois State Representative and United States
14Congressman John Edward Porter and extend our sincere
15condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
16him; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18presented to the family of Congressman Porter as an expression
19of our deepest sympathy.