Full Text of SR0344 93rd General Assembly
SR0344 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois | 3 |
| were shocked and saddened to learn of the death of their former | 4 |
| colleague, U.S. Senator Paul Simon, of Makanda, on Tuesday, | 5 |
| December 9, 2003; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Senator Simon was born on November 29, 1928 in | 7 |
| Eugene, Oregon to Reverend Martin Simon and his wife, Ruth; he | 8 |
| attended Dana College in Nebraska; and
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| WHEREAS, Senator Simon's success in politics began with the | 10 |
| reformer's zeal he evidenced at the Troy Tribune, where he was | 11 |
| a crusading owner-editor, the nation's youngest newspaper | 12 |
| owner, before he was old enough to vote; he testified in 1951 | 13 |
| before Senator Estes Kefauver's Crime Investigating Committee, | 14 |
| and in 1954, after a two-year stint in the Army Counter | 15 |
| Intelligence Corps along the Iron Curtain, he parlayed exposure | 16 |
| of political corruption and organized crime in Madison County | 17 |
| into a successful race for the Illinois House; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, Senator Simon served eight years in the House of | 19 |
| Representatives, where he met his first wife, Jeanne Hurley of | 20 |
| Wilmette, shortly after she was elected to the State | 21 |
| legislature in 1956; they married in 1960, becoming the first | 22 |
| husband-and-wife team in the history of the Illinois General | 23 |
| Assembly; she preceded him in death in 2000; and | 24 |
| WHEREAS, As a legislator, he was chief sponsor of the law | 25 |
| that required governmental agencies at all levels to open their | 26 |
| meetings to the public and the news media; he voluntarily | 27 |
| disclosed his personal finances in his first race for the State | 28 |
| legislature - long before any disclosure was required - and | 29 |
| continued baring his finances in more detail than the law | 30 |
| required throughout his political career; and |
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| WHEREAS, In 1968, voters elected Republican Richard | 2 |
| Ogilvie as Governor and Democrat Paul Simon as Lieutenant | 3 |
| Governor, the only time in Illinois history that voters would | 4 |
| pair politicians of different parties for those offices; as | 5 |
| Lieutenant Governor, he held town meetings throughout the State | 6 |
| to field complaints about State government; following his term | 7 |
| as Lieutenant Governor, he started the public affairs reporting | 8 |
| program at Sangamon State University, now the University of | 9 |
| Illinois at Springfield; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, In 1974, Senator Simon was elected to the U.S. | 11 |
| House of Representatives, serving 10 years until winning | 12 |
| election to the U.S. Senate; he held the seat for 12 years | 13 |
| before retiring in 1997; he helped overhaul the federal student | 14 |
| loan program to enable students and their families to borrow | 15 |
| directly from the government;
he advocated for liberal causes | 16 |
| and increased funding for social programs, but he also | 17 |
| campaigned for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. | 18 |
| Constitution; he was known to be a man of integrity and a voice | 19 |
| for the less fortunate; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, Senator Simon wrote weekly newspaper columns for | 21 |
| 46 years and authored or co-wrote more than 20 books between | 22 |
| 1964 and 2003; his most recent book, "Our Culture of Pandering" | 23 |
| was published earlier this year; and | 24 |
| WHEREAS, Following his retirement from the U.S. Senate, | 25 |
| Senator Simon took up teaching, writing, and heading the Public | 26 |
| Policy Institute, a think tank which he founded at Southern | 27 |
| Illinois University Carbondale; he married Patricia Derge in | 28 |
| 2001; he is the recipient of several honorary degrees and other | 29 |
| accolades; and | 30 |
| WHEREAS, The passing of Senator Paul Simon has been deeply | 31 |
| felt by many throughout the State of Illinois, but especially | 32 |
| by his wife, Patricia; his daughter, Sheila; his son, Martin; |
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| and his step-daughter, Jennie Derge; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL | 3 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 4 |
| Senator Paul Simon, a great man who will long be remembered for | 5 |
| his devotion to serving the least fortunate people of our | 6 |
| society, for his genuine personality, and his trademark bow-tie | 7 |
| and glasses; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 |
| presented to the family of Senator Paul Simon as an expression | 10 |
| of our sincerest condolences during their time of bereavement.
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