HR1478 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1478 LRB094 21744 KXB 60152 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Associate Judge John Mannion has retired from the bench after a distinguished judicial career of 22 years; and

WHEREAS, John Mannion was born on the South Side of Chicago in 1936; he was raised in Visitation and St. Sabina parishes and attended St. Ignatius and Leo high schools; and

WHEREAS, He served in the United States Air Force, joining in 1957; he joined the Chicago Police Department in 1961; he married in 1963 and together he and his wife raised four children; and

WHEREAS, In 1968 John Mannion received his college degree from Loyola University in Chicago; in 1974 he received his law degree from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, attending night classes while also serving as a police officer; and

WHEREAS, John Mannion served 14 years as a Chicago police officer, including six years as a homicide detective; he and his partners won the police superintendent's award of valor after struggling with a robber who had stabbed three people; and

WHEREAS, After receiving his law degree he served first as a prosecutor for 10 years, then began his 22-year career as an Associate Judge in the Criminal Division of the Cook County Circuit Court; and

WHEREAS, The South Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police ranked Judge Mannion second for his positive qualities out of 41 judges ranked in 1999; another report ranked him third out of 49 judges in requests for substitution of judges in criminal cases, all of these requests coming from defense lawyers; and

WHEREAS, Judge Mannion, who came up from the streets, quotes Shakespeare, and has a phenomenal knowledge of literature, history, and current events, has earned the respect and gratitude of the entire community for his unswerving dedication to the legal system and to his community; and

WHEREAS, Judge Mannion was honored on his last day in court, September 19, 2006, when childhood friends and his former police partner, John Neary, came out of the lockup and appeared before the bench for his final day in the courtroom; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Associate Judge John Mannion on his retirement and express our sincere appreciation for his exemplary service to the people of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Associate Judge John Mannion.