Full Text of HR0231 97th General Assembly
HR0231 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to pay tribute to and acknowledge former | 4 | | U.S. Senator Alan J. Dixon's contributions to his hometown of | 5 | | Belleville, the State of Illinois, and the nation and | 6 | | congratulate him for having the Senator Alan J. Dixon Student | 7 | | Center at Lindenwood University-Belleville named after him; | 8 | | and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Lindenwood University-Belleville will honor Alan | 10 | | J. Dixon by naming its student center the Senator Alan J. Dixon | 11 | | Student Center; we congratulate him for this honor and his | 12 | | distinguished service to the State of Illinois; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Senator Alan J. Dixon Student Center will | 14 | | provide Lindenwood University-Belleville students with a state | 15 | | of the art research library, an ergonomically-designed | 16 | | computer lab, a dining hall, a contemporary student lounge, and | 17 | | a spirit shop; as a tribute to Senator Dixon, the library will | 18 | | also showcase a museum of his political accomplishments; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon was born and raised in Belleville; | 20 | | he graduated from Belleville Township High School, now the | 21 | | Lindenwood University-Belleville campus; he began his 43-year | 22 | | political career in law school, when he was elected to serve as |
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| 1 | | Belleville Police Magistrate; at the age of 22, he was elected | 2 | | one of the youngest legislators ever elected to serve in the | 3 | | Illinois House of Representatives; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon rose through the ranks of State | 5 | | government as an Illinois State Representative for 12 years, | 6 | | where he was an advocate for higher education and co-sponsored | 7 | | legislation which produced Illinois' community college system; | 8 | | and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon served in the Illinois State Senate | 10 | | for eight years, rising to Assistant Democratic Leader; he was | 11 | | elected to serve as Illinois State Treasurer in 1970; from 1977 | 12 | | to 1981, he served as Illinois Secretary of State, an office he | 13 | | won by a margin of 1.3 million votes; his 1.5 million | 14 | | re-election majority marked the only time a candidate from | 15 | | either political party ever carried all 102 Illinois counties | 16 | | in an election, including all 30 townships in suburban Cook | 17 | | County and all 50 wards in the City of Chicago; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon was well known as a gregarious | 19 | | politician and was revered as "Al the Pal" among friends, | 20 | | colleagues, and news pundits; his staff wore "I'm Al's Pal" | 21 | | campaign buttons in the 1980 campaign for the United States | 22 | | Senate; he was elected to the United States Senate that year; | 23 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon won his first election to the United | 2 | | States Senate by more than 600,000 votes; he won his | 3 | | re-election to the United States Senate in 1986 by more than | 4 | | 950,000 votes; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, In 1988 and again in 1990, Alan J. Dixon was | 6 | | unanimously selected by his party colleagues to serve as the | 7 | | chief deputy whip of the United States Senate, the number three | 8 | | leadership post; Senator Dixon enjoyed an unbroken string of 29 | 9 | | election victories; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, At the request of President Bill Clinton, Alan J. | 11 | | Dixon served as chairman of the Defense Base Closure and | 12 | | Realignment Commission in 1994 and 1995, a job that called for | 13 | | both national defense knowledge and good political ties with | 14 | | Democrats and Republicans; as a former chairman of an important | 15 | | Senate Armed Services Subcommittee, he had the defense | 16 | | knowledge required for the job; on the second requirement of | 17 | | good ties with both parties, Democrats and Republicans have | 18 | | always mutually respected Senator Dixon; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon is presently a partner with the St. | 20 | | Louis, Missouri based law firm, Bryan Cave, LLP, where he | 21 | | serves corporate and government clients; he is married to Joan | 22 | | Fox Dixon and has three children, Stephanie, Jeffrey, and |
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| 1 | | Elizabeth, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren; | 2 | | therefore, be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 4 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 5 | | we congratulate former United States Senator Alan J. Dixon on | 6 | | the occasion of having the Senator Alan J. Dixon Student Center | 7 | | at Lindenwood University-Belleville named after him and | 8 | | recognize and thank him for his innumerable achievements and | 9 | | efforts on behalf of his hometown of Belleville; and be it | 10 | | further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to Alan J. Dixon as an expression of our utmost | 13 | | respect and esteem.
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