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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Illinois | ||||||
4 | Supreme Court Justice John L. Nickels of Sugar Grove; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels was born on January 16, 1931, | ||||||
6 | in Aurora; his parents were Philip and Gertrude Nickels; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels grew up in Sugar Grove, where | ||||||
8 | he spent his early educational years in a one-room school house | ||||||
9 | with 14 other students; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels attended and graduated from | ||||||
11 | Marmion Military Academy; he subsequently continued his | ||||||
12 | education at Northern Illinois University, where he earned a | ||||||
13 | bachelor's degree in business, and Northwestern University, | ||||||
14 | where he studied trust administration; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels earned his Juris Doctorate | ||||||
16 | from DePaul University before graduating from the National | ||||||
17 | Judicial College; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, In 1954, Justice John Nickels entered the United | ||||||
19 | States Army, where he supported his brothers in arms overseas | ||||||
20 | by working in aircraft maintenance; he also trained for work in |
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1 | control towers while being stationed in both Texas and | ||||||
2 | Louisiana; and
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3 | WHEREAS, After being honorably discharged in 1956, Justice | ||||||
4 | John Nickels married Merita Smith at Holy Cross Catholic Church | ||||||
5 | in Batavia on June 22, 1957; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels and his wife began their new | ||||||
7 | life in DeKalb, where he attended Northern Illinois University | ||||||
8 | until they moved to Chicago during his law school years; while | ||||||
9 | Justice Nickels established his practice, he called Batavia | ||||||
10 | home, although he eventually settled in Maple Park; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels was a man who never stopped | ||||||
12 | learning; his iron-clad work ethic was forged on the farm, | ||||||
13 | tending both his fields and livestock; Justice Nickels always | ||||||
14 | strove to be the best, no matter his station in life, and | ||||||
15 | adapted those bedrock values to catapult from a trial lawyer to | ||||||
16 | senior partner in his own firm, where he practiced in DeKalb, | ||||||
17 | Kane, and Kendall Counties; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels rose to the challenge of | ||||||
19 | becoming a Circuit Court Judge in 1982 and an Appellate Court | ||||||
20 | Judge in 1990; he eventually retired as a Justice on the | ||||||
21 | Illinois Supreme Court in 1998; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels heard and participated in 820 | ||||||
2 | cases; he authored 95 majority opinions, 45 dissenting | ||||||
3 | opinions, and 10 special concurring opinions during his time on | ||||||
4 | the Illinois Supreme Court; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, During the 1990s, Justice John Nickels acted as | ||||||
6 | the Supreme Court liaison to the Lawyers Trust Fund, where he | ||||||
7 | worked to increase access to justice for low-income citizens | ||||||
8 | and find funding for legal aid programs throughout Illinois; | ||||||
9 | and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, One of the majority opinions Justice John Nickels | ||||||
11 | authored struck down Chicago's gang loitering ordinance as | ||||||
12 | unconstitutional; the case was heard by the United States | ||||||
13 | Supreme Court, which upheld Justice Nickels' decision; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, Through all of Justice John Nickels' | ||||||
15 | accomplishments and accolades, he was forever a farmer at | ||||||
16 | heart; his roots ran deep into the hills and valleys of the | ||||||
17 | countryside and he was never happier than when he was | ||||||
18 | surrounded by his loving family; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels will be dearly missed by his | ||||||
20 | loving wife, Merita; his children, Mary (James) Himic, | ||||||
21 | Jacqueline (David) Beane, Margaret (Kenneth) Mangers, Lisa | ||||||
22 | (Joseph) Edmeier, Philip (Sara) Nickels, Ruth Anne |
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1 | (Jean-Baptiste) Philippot, and Gertrude (Peter) Filipos; his | ||||||
2 | 23 grandchildren; his great-grandson; his sisters, Jean Morris | ||||||
3 | and Phyllis Nickels; and his many nieces, nephews, cousins, and | ||||||
4 | friends; therefore, be it
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5 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
6 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
7 | we mourn, along with his family, friends, and the citizens of | ||||||
8 | Illinois, the passing of Justice John L. Nickels; and be it | ||||||
9 | further
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10 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
11 | presented to the family of Justice John Nickels as a symbol of | ||||||
12 | our sympathy.
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