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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to 
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learn of the death of William L. Rutherford of Peoria, 
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Illinois, who passed away on November 21, 2006; and

 
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    WHEREAS, William Rutherford was born on December 28, 1914, 
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in Peoria to Dr. Leslie and Margaret Tallman Rutherford; he 
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married Hazel S. (Sommer) Rutherford on Sept. 21, 1937; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He graduated from Bradley University in 1934 and 
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received his law degree in 1937 from the University of Chicago; 
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he attended Columbia University in New York City for graduate 
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work in taxation; and
 
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    WHEREAS, During World War II, William Rutherford  served as 
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consultant to the Secretary of War in Washington, D.C., 
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advising him on steel production and allocation; he returned to 
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Peoria after the war and practiced law in association with 
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several different attorneys, eventually in affiliation with 
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James M. Tomlin; he continued to practice law and continued to 
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work at the Forest Park Foundation/Wildlife Prairie State Park 
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until early this year; and

 
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    WHEREAS, William Rutherford and his wife were instrumental 
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in the purchase of more than 600,000 acres of land throughout 
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the world, which was then turned over to parks and public 
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bodies; he served on White House Commissions on Aging, served 
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several Illinois governors as a member of the Board of 
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Vocational Education, the Illinois Public Aid Commission, and 
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as the director of the Illinois Department of Conservation, 
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from which he negotiated the transfer of the Hennepin Canal and 
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Goose Lake Prairie properties to the State as recreational and 
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preservation resources; and

 
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    WHEREAS, William Rutherford was a founding member of the 
 


 






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Forest Park Foundation; he and his wife Hazel directed 
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foundation activities creating the Wildlife Prairie Park, 
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which opened to the public in the fall of 1978; the foundation 
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deeded the park to the State of Illinois, and in 2000 the State 
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of Illinois changed the name of the park to the Hazel and Bill 
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Rutherford Wildlife Prairie State Park; and

 
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    WHEREAS, William Rutherford represented the Greater Peoria 
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Airport Authority during its formation and for years later, 
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advocating the development of the new Mount Hawley Airport; he 
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headed the Forest Park Foundation from its inception in 1939 
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until the spring of this year, founded the Institute of 
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Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, facilitated the 
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expansion and building of hospitals, health facilities, 
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housing for the elderly, the Safety Town young drivers 
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education facility, the Rock Island Trail, the Observation 
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Tower (and woodpecker) in Peoria Heights, and many other 
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Peoria-centered projects; though a well-traveled man, he 
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considered Peoria the center of his world; and

 
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    WHEREAS, William Rutherford was preceded in death by his 
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loving wife, Hazel, his two brothers, and one sister; and

 

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    WHEREAS, William Rutherford is survived by his sons, Dr. 
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William (Jan), and Dr. Ladd D. (Bonnie); his nine 
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grandchildren; and his two great-grandchildren; therefore, be 
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it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with 
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his family and friends, the passing of William L. Rutherford; 
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and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of William Rutherford.