SJ0034 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0034 LRB096 11211 KXB 21609 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Because former United States Senator Peter Fitzgerald was a Republican, a member of the same political party as President George W. Bush, the duty of choosing a candidate for the job of United Sates Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois was his responsibility; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has a well-earned and long-standing national reputation of politicians of both political parties who engage in flagrant public corruption, abuse of the people's trust, and cronyism; and

WHEREAS, This unfortunate legacy of bipartisan, personal dishonesty, and public corruption is epitomized by George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich, two individuals whose words and actions leave a stench in the nostrils of honorable men and women; and

WHEREAS, It was necessary that former United States Senator Peter Fitzgerald act boldly and courageously to shake up the political establishment and its endemic culture of corruption by choosing an independent person of impeccable integrity and honor; and

WHEREAS, Senator Fitzgerald came under intense criticism by many, with some of the most fierce criticism coming from within his own political party, for breaking the age-old tradition of naming a prominent Chicago-area attorney to this position; and

WHEREAS, Senator Fitzgerald displayed his willingness to act with great courage, follow the dictates of his well-formed conscience, and do the right thing with no regard for adverse political consequences; and

WHEREAS, One notable example of this courage was when he held-up the federal funding in the United States Senate for the construction of the Abraham Lincoln Museum until he was assured that taxpayer money would not be ill-spent by the awarding of construction contracts through sweetheart deals to political contributors and influence peddlers in Springfield; and

WHEREAS, Senator Fitzgerald again stood tall when he called upon then-sitting Governor George Ryan, a member of his own political party, not to seek re-election because Ryan had become a moral, ethical, and political embarrassment; and

WHEREAS, At the press conference introducing his choice for U.S. Attorney, Senator Fitzgerald stated, "I didn't have a set opinion going into this as to whether the candidate should be from in State or from out of State, but I was determined that the candidate be somebody who is independent and not an insider. I think that the best person is someone who has no connections, no alliances and is not beholden to anyone. I found no one who was better than Pat Fitzgerald."; and

WHEREAS, Patrick Fitzgerald came from humble, working class roots, with both of his parents having emigrated from Ireland; Patrick won a scholarship to attend a prestigious Jesuit high school in New York and worked his way through Amherst College where he made Phi Beta Kappa and later graduated from Harvard with a degree in law; when he worked in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, he prosecuted a major heroin smuggling ring and helped convict four members of the Gambino crime family on racketeering and murder charges; he also helped prosecute the terrorists involved in the World Trade Center bombing as well as those responsible for the bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa; and

WHEREAS, Patrick Fitzgerald was once described by a friend as, "Elliot Ness with a Harvard Law Degree and a sense of humor. He just cares passionately about chasing down bad guys"; and

WHEREAS, FBI Director Louis Freeh recommended Patrick Fitzgerald when Senator Fitzgerald asked for names of the best federal prosecutors in the country; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has proven to be an exceptional choice for U.S. Attorney, has displayed a high standard of independence, hard work and integrity, set clear priorities for and re-energized the office, and most importantly has fearlessly sought to root out public corruption; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that Senator Peter Fitzgerald rejected this political status quo, boldly spoke out against abuses of the public trust, and by the appointment of Patrick Fitzgerald to the office of U.S. Attorney, has left a legacy of honesty, integrity, and intolerance for corruption that will serve to restore the public trust in Illinois State government; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to former United States Senator Peter Fitzgerald.