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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Illinois
4Supreme Court Justice John L. Nickels of Sugar Grove; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels was born on January 16, 1931,
6in Aurora; his parents were Philip and Gertrude Nickels; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels grew up in Sugar Grove, where
8he spent his early educational years in a one-room school house
9with 14 other students; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels attended and graduated from
11Marmion Military Academy; he subsequently continued his
12education at Northern Illinois University, where he earned a
13bachelor's degree in business, and Northwestern University,
14where he studied trust administration; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels earned his Juris Doctorate
16from DePaul University before graduating from the National
17Judicial College; and
 
18    WHEREAS, In 1954, Justice John Nickels entered the United
19States Army, where he supported his brothers in arms overseas
20by working in aircraft maintenance; he also trained for work in

 

 

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1control towers while being stationed in both Texas and
2Louisiana; and
 
3    WHEREAS, After being honorably discharged in 1956, Justice
4John Nickels married Merita Smith at Holy Cross Catholic Church
5in Batavia on June 22, 1957; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels and his wife began their new
7life in DeKalb, where he attended Northern Illinois University
8until they moved to Chicago during his law school years; while
9Justice Nickels established his practice, he called Batavia
10home, although he eventually settled in Maple Park; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels was a man who never stopped
12learning; his iron-clad work ethic was forged on the farm,
13tending both his fields and livestock; Justice Nickels always
14strove to be the best, no matter his station in life, and
15adapted those bedrock values to catapult from a trial lawyer to
16senior partner in his own firm, where he practiced in DeKalb,
17Kane, and Kendall Counties; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels rose to the challenge of
19becoming a Circuit Court Judge in 1982 and an Appellate Court
20Judge in 1990; he eventually retired as a Justice on the
21Illinois Supreme Court in 1998; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels heard and participated in 820
2cases; he authored 95 majority opinions, 45 dissenting
3opinions, and 10 special concurring opinions during his time on
4the Illinois Supreme Court; and
 
5    WHEREAS, During the 1990s, Justice John Nickels acted as
6the Supreme Court liaison to the Lawyers Trust Fund, where he
7worked to increase access to justice for low-income citizens
8and find funding for legal aid programs throughout Illinois;
9and
 
10    WHEREAS, One of the majority opinions Justice John Nickels
11authored struck down Chicago's gang loitering ordinance as
12unconstitutional; the case was heard by the United States
13Supreme Court, which upheld Justice Nickels' decision; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Through all of Justice John Nickels'
15accomplishments and accolades, he was forever a farmer at
16heart; his roots ran deep into the hills and valleys of the
17countryside and he was never happier than when he was
18surrounded by his loving family; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Justice John Nickels will be dearly missed by his
20loving wife, Merita; his children, Mary (James) Himic,
21Jacqueline (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
223 grandchildren; his great-grandson; his sisters, Jean Morris
3and Phyllis Nickels; and his many nieces, nephews, cousins, and
4friends; therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we mourn, along with his family, friends, and the citizens of
8Illinois, the passing of Justice John L. Nickels; and be it
9further
 
10    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11presented to the family of Justice John Nickels as a symbol of
12our sympathy.