SR0892 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0892 LRB094 22062 KXB 60643 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of William L. Rutherford of Peoria, Illinois, who passed away on November 21, 2006; and

WHEREAS, William Rutherford was born on December 28, 1914, in Peoria to Dr. Leslie and Margaret Tallman Rutherford; he married Hazel S. (Sommer) Rutherford on Sept. 21, 1937; and

WHEREAS, He graduated from Bradley University in 1934 and received his law degree in 1937 from the University of Chicago; he attended Columbia University in New York City for graduate work in taxation; and

WHEREAS, During World War II, William Rutherford served as consultant to the Secretary of War in Washington, D.C., advising him on steel production and allocation; he returned to Peoria after the war and practiced law in association with several different attorneys, eventually in affiliation with James M. Tomlin; he continued to practice law and continued to work at the Forest Park Foundation/Wildlife Prairie State Park until early this year; and

WHEREAS, William Rutherford and his wife were instrumental in the purchase of more than 600,000 acres of land throughout the world, which was then turned over to parks and public bodies; he served on White House Commissions on Aging, served several Illinois governors as a member of the Board of Vocational Education, the Illinois Public Aid Commission, and as the director of the Illinois Department of Conservation, from which he negotiated the transfer of the Hennepin Canal and Goose Lake Prairie properties to the State as recreational and preservation resources; and

WHEREAS, William Rutherford was a founding member of the Forest Park Foundation; he and his wife Hazel directed foundation activities creating the Wildlife Prairie Park, which opened to the public in the fall of 1978; the foundation deeded the park to the State of Illinois, and in 2000 the State of Illinois changed the name of the park to the Hazel and Bill Rutherford Wildlife Prairie State Park; and

WHEREAS, William Rutherford represented the Greater Peoria Airport Authority during its formation and for years later, advocating the development of the new Mount Hawley Airport; he headed the Forest Park Foundation from its inception in 1939 until the spring of this year, founded the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, facilitated the expansion and building of hospitals, health facilities, housing for the elderly, the Safety Town young drivers education facility, the Rock Island Trail, the Observation Tower (and woodpecker) in Peoria Heights, and many other Peoria-centered projects; though a well-traveled man, he considered Peoria the center of his world; and

WHEREAS, William Rutherford was preceded in death by his loving wife, Hazel, his two brothers, and one sister; and

WHEREAS, William Rutherford is survived by his sons, Dr. William (Jan), and Dr. Ladd D. (Bonnie); his nine grandchildren; and his two great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of William L. Rutherford; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of William Rutherford.