093_SR0337
LRB093 13482 RAH 18807 r
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of
3 Illinois learned with regret of the passing of former State
4 Senator Bernard S. Neistein on October 3, 2003; and
5 WHEREAS, For the last several decades, former State
6 Senator Bernard S. Neistein was a colorful, even beloved
7 figure on the Chicago scene -- a gravelly voiced,
8 cigar-chomping, homburg hat-wearing old pol telling tales of
9 political mud fights; he also was a professional-quality
10 violinist and a contributor to several charities; and
11 WHEREAS, Born Bernard S. Neistein on the West Side of
12 Chicago on August 15, 1916, Senator Neistein lived on North
13 Lake Shore Drive for many years, but his roots were in
14 Chicago's 29th Ward; his father was a Russian tailor who had
15 a shop at Pulaski Road and Jackson Boulevard; and
16 WHEREAS, Senator Neistein graduated from Marshall High
17 School in 1932 and received his law degree from DePaul
18 University Law School in 1937; he was the youngest DePaul Law
19 graduate up to that time; he later was a partner in the law
20 firm Neistein, Richman, Hauslinger and Young; and
21 WHEREAS, World War II interrupted his career and Senator
22 Neistein served for 2-1/2 years in the U.S. Army in Europe
23 and was known for smuggling kosher salamies and sharing them
24 with the troops; and
25 WHEREAS, A lifelong Democrat, Senator Neistein became a
26 precinct captain before he was eligible to vote; his first
27 assignment was to work the only Republican precinct in the
28 29th Ward; in a couple of years, the vote totals favored
29 Democratic candidates by large majorities; and
30 WHEREAS, Senator Neistein rose through the political
31 ranks and was the longtime Democratic committeeman of the
-2- LRB093 13482 RAH 18807 r
1 ward before stepping aside in the early 1970s; Senator
2 Neistein was particularly proud of bringing in a landslide
3 vote for John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election;
4 and
5 WHEREAS, Senator Neistein became a bailiff in Municipal
6 Court in 1954; he was elected to the Illinois House of
7 Representatives in 1956 and served one term before moving to
8 the Illinois Senate; he was a state senator from 1959 until
9 1973; and
10 WHEREAS, The passing of former State Senator Bernard S.
11 Neistein has been deeply felt by all who knew and loved him,
12 especially his daughter, Evaly Jerome; his sisters, Ida
13 Berger and Nettie Fishman; and his grandchildren; therefore,
14 be it
15 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
16 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
17 all who knew him, the death of former State Senator Bernard
18 S. Neistein; he will be remembered as a very gregarious man
19 and a very warm, funny, generous, and loving father and
20 grandfather; and be it further
21 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22 presented to the family of former State Senator Bernard S.
23 Neistein with our sincerest condolences.