HR0924 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0924 LRB103 43135 ECR 76395 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Ty Fahner, who passed away on September 16, 2024; and

WHEREAS, Tyrone Clarence "Ty" Fahner came to Illinois as a young lawyer, earning a Master of Laws from Northwestern University in 1971; and

WHEREAS, Ty Fahner became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago, working in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Jim Thompson; and

WHEREAS, As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Ty Fahner successfully prosecuted more than 250 criminals, including international drug dealers, bank robbers, corrupt public officials, and figures from organized crime; and

WHEREAS, Ty Fahner then worked in high-level Chicago private practice from 1975 into 1977; and

WHEREAS, When Jim Thompson took office as Governor of Illinois in 1977, he selected Ty Fahner to be his first Director of the Department of Law Enforcement, a position equivalent to today's Director of the Illinois State Police; and

WHEREAS, In 1980, then Illinois Attorney General William J. Scott departed from that position to run for another office and fight criminal charges against himself; Jim Thompson responded to this vacancy by appointing Ty Fahner to serve as the 37th Attorney General of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Both as Director of Law Enforcement and as Attorney General, Ty Fahner focused on the growing crimes of organized, non-street-level drug trafficking and Medicaid fraud; the units within the State Police and the Office of the Attorney General that concentrate on these areas of criminal offense trace their inceptions back to initiatives begun or championed by him; and

WHEREAS, In September 1982, while Ty Fahner was Attorney General, the Chicago area was convulsed with fear when an unknown person repeatedly tampered with packages of a familiar over-the-counter pain analgesic, Tylenol; after at least seven victims died of cyanide poisoning, it became clear that much greater coordination between local, State, and national law enforcement would be required; as Attorney General, Ty Fahner took initial steps to expand this coordination; and

WHEREAS, After serving as Attorney General, Ty Fahner moved back to the Chicago private practice of law, this time serving with Mayer, Brown & Platt, now Mayer Brown LLP; he was selected to serve on Mayer Brown's management committee in 1985, rising to chairman of the firm in 2001; and

WHEREAS, At Mayer Brown, Ty Fahner worked closely with rising young practitioners; Lori Lightfoot, who would go on to be the 56th Mayor of Chicago, has publicly credited Ty Fahner with being a mentor at Mayer Brown; and

WHEREAS, In addition to his law practice and executive responsibilities, Ty Fahner accepted an appointment from President Ronald Reagan to serve on the Fulbright Scholarship Board, an advisory panel of the U.S. State Department, in 1988; and

WHEREAS, As a Chicago civic benefactor, Ty Fahner concentrated on the cause of Chicago's Shedd Aquarium; he was selected to serve on the Aquarium board in 2004 and became chairman of the board in 2012; and

WHEREAS, As a civic leader, Ty Fahner concentrated on his work as president of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago; under his leadership, this committee became a leader in the effort to get the State of Illinois to narrow its structural budget deficit, to address the significant pension obligations of the State of Illinois and the city of Chicago, to ensure that critical government services could be provided, and to position Illinois for economic growth; and

WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Ty Fahner and the people who worked with him, a report was released that identified key steps that the State of Illinois should take to restore fiscal stability and position the State for long-term economic prosperity; and

WHEREAS, Ty Fahner and his wife, Anne Fahner, developed lifelong ties with the Chicago region, raising their children, Maggie, Dan, and Molly, there; and

WHEREAS, Ty Fahner died at his Northfield home on September 16, 2024 at age 81; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Tyrone Clarence "Ty" Fahner and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we honor Ty Fahner's dedication to law enforcement, fiscal responsibility, and Illinois civic uplift for the next generation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we thank the attorneys and personnel who worked with Ty Fahner, including the officers of the Illinois State Police and the law enforcement personnel of the Office of the Attorney General, who served with him to keep Illinois safe, starting almost half a century ago; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Ty Fahner as an expression of our deepest sympathy.