HR0087 LRB094 07593 CSA 37765 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Steve Neal was one of a kind; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Seldom in the State's collective institutional
4 memory did a person transplant himself and his family to the
5 Illinois political and governmental scene and take on the cloak
6 of a lifelong resident with the deepest of roots; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Infrequently in this modern, electronic era of
8 24-hour news cycles, never-ending tracking polls, e-mail, and
9 instant messages, did a person make fascinating reading out the
10 personal, hand-written, stamped correspondence of former
11 presidents, first ladies, and generals; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Seldom in an age of synergy, downloads, CD burns,
13 did a person influence so many city, state and national
14 governmental and political decisions from behind a mountain of
15 history books with a backdrop of posters dating back to bygone
16 times; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Rarely did a person understand the power of the
18 pen and the swath it would leave across the body politic when
19 used as a rapier, broad blade, and scalpel, all in the same
20 one-sided duel; and
 
21     WHEREAS, This resolution could also recount the reverence
22 held for Elvis, The Duke Wayne, Ike, and Harry, but those
23 legends and countless others might now be on call to be "grab a
24 bite" in another place with our chronicler and friend, Steve
25 Neal; and
 
26     WHEREAS, Steve Neal's accomplishments have been detailed
27 by some of our most gifted writers in recent days so those
28 achievements need not be redundantly recounted here; and
 

 

 

HR0087 - 2 - LRB094 07593 CSA 37765 r

1     WHEREAS, Beyond his written words that appeared in the
2 Chicago Sun Times, the Chicago Tribune, the hundreds of pages
3 of books or those verbal musings broadcast across the state,
4 Steve Neal will be remembered, cherished, and missed as a
5 person who could bring divergent, sometimes combative,
6 personas together to find common ground or, more often, set
7 aside those differences while making time to celebrate the
8 magic of our humanity; therefore, be it
 
9     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
11 we express our deepest sympathies on the passing of Steve Neal
12 to the family, friends, and colleagues of Steve Neal and,
13 further, our appreciation for the contribution Steve Neal made
14 to the betterment of the quality of life for the people of the
15 State of Illinois; and be it further
 
16     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17 presented to his family as an expression of our deepest
18 sympathy.