SR0592 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0592 LRB093 22542 HSS 52088 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois learned with regret of the death of Paul R. Welch of Bloomington on Thursday, June 3, 2004; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch was born on June 30, 1936 in Belleville to Robert H. and Grace Renner Welch; he married Cheryl A. Wombacher on August 25, 1979; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri from 1954 to 1962, when he received his law degree; while at the university, honors and activities included the Law Review (Washington University Law Quarterly), Phi Delta Phi Fraternity, Sigma Nu Fraternity, Students for Better Government, and Scabbard and Blade Military Honor Society; he also participated in Illinois Continuing Legal Education; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch was admitted to the bar to practice law in Illinois in 1965 and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court, State of Missouri in 1962, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals in 1962, the U.S. District Court in South Dakota in 1967, the U.S. District Court Central District in 1993, and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1987; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch is the author of the July Selection in Criminal Cases in 1974 and was a lecturer from 1974 to 1976; he was an assistant professor at Illinois State University from 1977 to 1979; he also worked as a member of the staff and faculty for the Army Judge Advocate General's School; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch was a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association, the Missouri Bar Association, the McLean County Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Illinois Defense Counsel; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch served as the assistant city counselor for the city of St. Louis, Missouri in 1962; from 1963 to 1965, he was with the U.S. Army, JAGC, Serving on the Trial Counsel, Chief of Military Justice, Military Law, and the 2nd Armored Division; he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal in 1965; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch worked as an associated and partner for Yoder, Yoder, and Luedtke in Bloomington from 1965 to 1968; he was State's Attorney of McLean County from 1968 to 1976, during which he prosecuted 5 homicide cases as well as numerous other felony matters; he was the president and an attorney for Costigan and Wollrab P.C. in Bloomington from 1967 until the present; he worked in private practice with emphasis on trial work, civil (personal injury defense), marital law, and criminal defense; included in his cases were 4 homicide cases among the approximately 125 cases he tried; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch was a member of the Bloomington-Normal Jaycees, receiving the Outstanding Citizen Award in 1969; he was a past president of the McLean County Bar Association and a member of the Illinois State's Attorney's Association, serving as vice president, president elect in 1976, chairman of the Legislative Liaison Committee, and as originator and supervisor of the Model Circuit Attorney's Program; he was a member of the United Nations Commission on crime and Rehabilitation of Offenders, a past president and vice president of the McLean County Board of Health, and a past president and vice president of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch was a member and board member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Bloomington and a past president and board member of the Bloomington Country Club; he was Hearing Board chairman for the Illinois Attorneys Registration and Disciplinary Commission; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Welch was campaign manager for U.S. Representative Edward Madigan, who was appointed Secretary of Agriculture by President George H. W. Bush in 1990; he was a member of the National District Attorneys Association and the Standards and Goals for Prosecutors Committee and was co-author of Standards and Goals for Prosecutors; he was on the Home Sweet Home Mission Board and was a past president of the McLean County Economic Development Council; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Paul R. Welch has been deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Cheryl; his mother, Grace; his children, Reed Welch, Carrie Welch, Rob (Carrie) Welch, and Margaret Welch; his brother, Dr. William (Barbara) Welch; his sisters, Janet (William) Eckert and Linda Middaugh; and his numerous nieces and nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of Paul R. Welch, and we extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

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