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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of the
4 Honorable John M. Flaherty of Oak Lawn, who passed away on May
5 21, 2007; and
 
6     WHEREAS, John M. Flaherty was a retired Associate Judge
7 with the 5th District Circuit Court of Cook County; he was an
8 United States Army Air Corps Veteran of World War II; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Judge Flaherty grew up in Chicago's Canaryville
10 neighborhood; he was the fourth of seven children, and was the
11 son of Irish immigrants, a Chicago Police officer, and a
12 homemaker; after his graduation from Englewood High School, he
13 enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces; between 1943 and
14 1945, Mr. Flaherty was a machine-gunner in a B-24 Liberator
15 aircraft, flying over Europe; he survived his plane being shot
16 down; after his military discharge, he attended DePaul
17 University, where he earned bachelor's and law degrees; and
 
18     WHEREAS, In the late 1940s, he passed the Illinois bar exam
19 and married Margaret Leiser; together they lived in Canaryville
20 until 1965, when they moved to Oak Lawn, where they raised
21 their five children; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Judge Flaherty worked as a Cook County public
2 defender for a time; he was appointed an associate judge in
3 1965, working as a Traffic Court judge before working as a
4 roving judge; he worked in various village halls presiding over
5 municipal matters; in his last years as a judge, Judge Flaherty
6 was assigned to the county courthouse in Bridgeview, where he
7 retired at the age of 74; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Judge Flaherty lived his life by this principle:
9 "There is but one rule of conduct for a man to do the right
10 thing. The cost may be dear in money, in friends, in influence,
11 in labor, in a prolonged and painful sacrifice; but the cost
12 not to do right is far more dear: you pay in the integrity of
13 your manhood, in honor, in truth, in character. You forfeit you
14 soul's content, and for a timely gain, you barter the
15 infinities."-Archer G. Jones; and
 
16     WHEREAS, John Flaherty was the beloved husband of Margaret
17 M., nee Leiser, for 58 years; the loving father of Mary
18 Flaherty, John (Lynn), Honorable Brian (Mary Beth), Mark
19 (Alice) and Colleen (Tim) Shea; the dear "Papa" of Michael,
20 Eileen, Tom, Patrick, Kevin, Grace, Maggie, Colin, Alanna,
21 Nora, Cara and Annie; the devoted brother of the late Mary
22 Goldsmith, Patricia Meyer, Virginia Kenny, Margaret O'Connor,
23 and Stephen and Edward Flaherty; and the fond uncle of many
24 nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
3 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of the
4 Honorable John M. Flaherty; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to the family of the Honorable John M. Flaherty as a
7 symbol of our sympathy.