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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
John Lukehart of Oak Park, who passed 
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away on December 11, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Lukehart was born on his family's farm in 
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Laurel, Iowa; he graduated from Iowa State University with a 
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degree in Distributed Studies, focusing on sociology and 
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political science; he moved to Oak Park in 1980; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Lukehart developed a sterling reputation as 
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an advocate for fair housing; he worked tirelessly for the 
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Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, a fair 
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housing organization started by Martin Luther King in the 
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1960s; he was actively involved in the Village of Oak Park's 
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community relations commission, dealing with discrimination in 
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the 1980s; he was also instrumental in the creation of the 
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Illinois Housing Roundtable, a group that coordinates the 
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activities of the various fair housing groups in the Chicago 
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area; and

 
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    WHEREAS, As an advocate for fair housing, John Lukehart 
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attempted to stress the relationship between employment, 
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housing, and affirmative housing strategies for low and 
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moderate income families; his innate ability to connect with 
 


 






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labor unions, faith-based groups, middle and upper income 
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people, social justice groups, civil rights groups, and 
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business entities aided the council immensely in its fight for 
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fairness in housing practices; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Lukehart's passion for equal treatment for 
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all was only matched by his intense love for art; he worked 
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with the Oak Park Area Arts Council, serving as president of 
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the organization since 2002; he was instrumental in the passage 
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of Oak Park's Public Arts Ordinance; he helped to pay for a 
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lease for the first two large sculptures placed in Oak Park out 
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of his own pocket; he was also a proud supporter of Off The 
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Wall, a summer arts employment program for local teens; and he 
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was awarded the Joseph Randall Shapiro Award in 2006 by the Oak 
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Park Area Arts Council for his numerous contributions to the 
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arts; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Lukehart's love for art was also personal; he 
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was known as a great photographer, donating photos to the arts 
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council's annual fall fundraiser; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Lukehart was preceded in death by his father, 
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L.J. "Mike" Lukehart; and
 
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    WHEREAS, John Lukehart is survived by his wife, Mary Daly 
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Lewis; his children, Jennifer and Jason Lukehart; his 
 


 






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step-children, Colin and Alison Lewis; his mother, Donna (nee 
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Stewart); his siblings, Lynda (Morris) Wolken and Greg (Cheryl) 
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Lukehart; his in-laws, Sharon, Patrick (Lorraine), Edward 
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(Sharon), and Michael (Stella) Daly; and his many aunts, 
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uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins; and
 
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    WHEREAS, John Lukehart will be remembered by all who knew 
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and loved him as a quiet and calm, yet passionate person, whose 
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dedication to the arts and fair treatment to all were without 
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peer; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH 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 John Lukehart; and be it 
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further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of John Lukehart as an expression of 
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our sympathy.