HR0692 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0692 LRB095 13564 GRL 39258 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Dr. Gordon Goodman on the occasion of being the recipient of the Downers Grove Citizen of the Year Award; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Gordon Goodman was born on August 19, 1933 in Chicago and grew up in Riverside; he attended Harvard University from 1951 to 1959, where he earned his bachelor's degree with honors and his Ph.D.; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Gordon Goodman worked at Argonne National Laboratory from 1959 to 1971, publishing more than twenty contributions in chemical physics; he worked in the fields of molecular spectroscopy and theoretical chemistry, as well as the supervision of researchers holding Ph.D.'s and the direction of thesis work; he taught at Harvard Summer School in 1960 and at Cornell University in the spring of 1964; during the fall of 1970, he developed a course entitled "Environmental Consequences of Changes in Information Technology" at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville; in 1974, he was employed at Saclay's Center for Nuclear Studies by the French Atomic Energy Commission; and he assisted in the development of Great Lakes Tomorrow, an international organization to improve citizen participation in Great Lakes decisions from 1975 until 1976; and

WHEREAS, From 1978 to 1984, Dr. Gordon Goodman worked on numerous problems in atomic and molecular physics, assisting in the interpretation of experiments on photoionization and high-resolution rotational spectra of open shell atoms and molecules; this work was characterized by strong emphasis on the use of symmetry properties and local density methods for modeling electronic structures; from 1985 until his retirement from Argonne in 1990, he worked as a part-time staff member in Argonne's Chemistry Division; he has produced over 75 publications in referred scientific journals, which have led to several international collaborations, including work with graduate and post-graduate research students in Leuven, Belgium, where he was a visiting professor in 1987; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Gordon Goodman and his wife Nancy moved to Downers Grove in 1962; he became involved in public affairs in Downers Grove and DuPage County in the early 1970's, serving as Chairman of the Mayor's Committee on Flood Plain Acquisition from 1972 to 1973; he was a member of the Steering Committee for the Second Total Community Development Study, TCD II from 1992 to 1994 and co-chaired the committee's focus group regarding Public/Cultural Facilities and Information Technology; he has appeared and offered testimony on many issues before most of the community's boards and commissions spanning the last 35 years; and

WHEREAS, In 1995, Dr. Gordon Goodman joined with other citizens of Downers Grove in establishing the Pierce Downer's Heritage Alliance to provide expert testimony at hearings about the future land use for property at the southeast corner of 31st Street and Highland Avenue; he served as Chair of the Heritage Alliance from 1995 to 1998 and from 2000 to 2004 and currently serves as its Treasurer; the group's efforts have contributed to the public acquisition of more than 40 acres of open space woodlands which now enhance and protect the Lyman Woods Forest Preserve; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Gordon Goodman was an active Board Member of the Illinois Environmental Council from 1998 to 2004 and served as Secretary and Chair of the council's Bylaws Committee; he has served on the DuPage County Environmental Commission and the Downers Grove Environmental Concerns Commission; he is a board member and secretary of the Citizen Advocacy Center in Elmhurst, a group dedicated to "building democracy for the 21st century"; he currently serves as a director of the Downers Grove Concert Association, the Downers Grove Coalition for Managed Redevelopment, and the Downers Grove Heritage Preservation Corporation; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Gordon Goodman currently devotes much of his time to projects which increase citizen participation in local decision making, in the effort to achieve stable, liveable communities with enhanced environmental quality; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Gordon Goodman's sizable contributions to modern science and the tireless work he has performed in his community make him a model for the citizens of this State; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Dr. Gordon Goodman on the occasion of being the recipient of the Downers Grove Citizen of the Year Award and wish him continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Gordon Goodman as a symbol of our esteem and respect.