SR0101 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0101 LRB094 08669 HSS 42735 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois learned with great sadness of the death of their former colleague, Richard A. Walsh, of River Forest on Tuesday, January 25, 2005; and

WHEREAS, Senator Walsh was born in Chicago; he graduated from Fenwick High School in Oak Park in 1948 and received an undergraduate business degree from Loyola University in 1952; he received his law degree from Loyola in 1954 and went on to form what is now the Chicago law firm of McCracken, Walsh, and deLaVan; and

WHEREAS, He spent his life as a lawyer, a suburban Chicago father of six, and a State legislator, roles that friends and family say he embraced with equal dedication; he served in the Illinois House until 1974, including a stint as chairman of the Appropriations Committee; he was then elected to the Illinois Senate in 1976 and served until 1982; and

WHEREAS, Along with his political and legal careers, Mr. Walsh served in the United States Navy in the late 1950s; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Walsh was often the first one in and the last to leave his Chicago law firm, yet he always put his family first and was there for ball games and weekend getaways; in the legislature, he was known for carefully reading the hundreds of bills that came up each year, never content to have staffers read them for him; and

WHEREAS, He was a passionate Republican and walked through political circles with an easy manner; he had a winning combination of strong principles and an equally strong sense of humor; he often joked about his sizable golf handicap and the equity it brought to the game; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Walsh came from a politically involved family; his uncle, Arthur Bidwill, was a longtime State senator and Senate president; Mr. Walsh's brother, William Walsh, began serving in the Illinois House in 1960, and when Mr. Walsh first was elected in 1962, they became the only brothers to serve in the legislature at the same time; his nephew, former Senator Tom Walsh, continued the family legacy as a member of the State Senate, where he served from 1995 to 2002; and

WHEREAS, In the summers, Mr. Walsh would take his family to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, and spend afternoons on the pier with his kids; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Senator Richard A. Walsh has been deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Patricia; his sons, Richard Jr., Mark, Patrick, and Brian; his daughters, Katherine and Anne; his two brothers, John and Robert; and his eight grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of former Senator Richard A. Walsh, and we extend our deepest sympathy 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 his family as an expression of our sincere condolences.