SR0713 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0713 LRB096 21616 GRL 38903 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Robert Byers Wilcox of Chicago, who passed away on March 5, 2010; and

WHEREAS, Robert Wilcox was born on April 5, 1922, in Chicago; his parents were Edward Byers and Mary Amanda (Gore) Wilcox; in 1941, he met Laura Janet Winstonthe, who he married in 1944 in Evanston; she preceded him in death in 1995; in July of 2006, he married a long-time and cherished family friend, Susanne Bush; and

WHEREAS, Robert Wilcox was raised in Winnetka, where he attended North Shore Country Day School; he then attended Harvard College, where he graduated AB cum laude with the class of 1944; and

WHEREAS, Robert Wilcox served his country with pride and distinction as a member of the United States Navy during World War II; during the war, he served on the USS Petrof Bay in the Pacific Ocean and narrowly survived an injury sustained in the midst of a typhoon; he was awarded the Purple Heart for his service; and

WHEREAS, After his discharge from the military, Robert Wilcox attended the University of Michigan Law School, earning his Juris Doctor degree in 1949; and

WHEREAS, Robert Wilcox had a long and distinguished career in law; he began his career by joining the Chicago law firm of Isham, Lincoln and Beale, where he was a partner from 1956 to 1971; during that time, he served as an advocate in groundbreaking and successful newspaper/libel cases and he played a key role in the research and preparation of the Report of the Chicago Riot Study Committee to the Honorable Richard J. Daley, investigating the causes of the riots in April of 1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.; and

WHEREAS, In 1971, Robert Wilcox was hired by the Marlennan Corporation, the holding company of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., where he served as General Counsel; he served as General Counsel until 1974, when he accepted the position of Director of Insurance for the State of Illinois under Governor Dan Walker; and

WHEREAS, Following his retirement, Robert Wilcox helped found 2 groups that continue to pursue issues of great importance to him; in 1993, he became the Founding Chairman of the Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest; he also helped found Protestants for the Common Good, a group that educates and mobilizes people of faith to participate in political democracy for the sake of social justice and the beloved community; and

WHEREAS, Robert Wilcox believed fervently in the power of community to ameliorate poverty and suffering and that the religious right should not have a monopoly on the representation of people of faith in the political sphere; and

WHEREAS, Robert Wilcox is survived by his wife, Susanne Bush Wilcox; his children, Robert B. Wilcox, Jr. (Barbara Hermansen), Steven W. Wilcox (Kathleen), Katherine Wilcox Lambert (Ian), David W. Wilcox (Melynda), and Brian W. Wilcox (Amy); his grandchildren, Elisabeth Lambert Thompson (John Neil), William W. Lambert, Benjamin B. H. Wilcox, James R. Wilcox, Katharine H. Wilcox, Samuel J. Wilcox, Amanda F. Wilcox, and Laura F. Wilcox; his sisters, Lee Kneerim and Ann Jones; and his many nieces and nephews; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Robert Byers Wilcox; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Robert Wilcox as an expression of our sympathy.