Full Text of HR0149 102nd General Assembly
HR0149 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives
are saddened to learn of the death of James B. | 4 | | Burns, who passed away on December 10, 2020; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns' legacy of honesty, fairness, and | 6 | | transparency leaves an indelible mark on the State of | 7 | | Illinois; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was appointed Secretary of State | 9 | | Inspector General by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White | 10 | | in April 2000 as the office had been under a cloud of | 11 | | controversy and corruption prior to White's election; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns, upon taking office, expanded the size | 13 | | of the Inspector General's office, hiring professional | 14 | | investigators from a variety of law enforcement backgrounds; | 15 | | and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns successfully initiated legislation that | 17 | | made the position of Secretary of State Inspector General | 18 | | permanent and broadened its powers to find and remove | 19 | | corruption; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns' successful legislation mandated that |
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| 1 | | the Secretary of State appoint, with the advice and consent of | 2 | | the Illinois Senate, a qualified Inspector General for the | 3 | | purpose of detection and deterrence and prevention of fraud, | 4 | | waste, mismanagement, and misconduct; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns' legislative efforts provided the | 6 | | Inspector General's office with subpoena powers, strong | 7 | | whistleblower protections, audit authority, and protected | 8 | | positions for Inspector General staff; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns implemented several | 10 | | corruption-combating initiatives, including an Audit Review | 11 | | Committee to provide a proactive element to evaluate all audit | 12 | | reports and improve systems and programs within the Secretary | 13 | | of State's office, a hotline and the website ReportItNow.net | 14 | | that allow the public or employees to file complaints, and an | 15 | | office-wide newsletter to communicate announcements with rank | 16 | | and file employees; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns instituted a computer-based case | 18 | | management system to improve efficiency in day-to-day | 19 | | operations of the Secretary of State's office, as well as to | 20 | | provide law enforcement with a means of tracking suspicious | 21 | | conduct patterns; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns worked to strengthen the relationship |
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| 1 | | between the Illinois Secretary of State's office and outside | 2 | | law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Attorney's offices; | 3 | | and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns made it his mission to visit Secretary | 5 | | of State Driver Services facilities statewide in an ongoing | 6 | | effort to foster a transparent and accessible relationship | 7 | | between the Inspector General's office and facility employees; | 8 | | and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns worked tirelessly in his role as | 10 | | Inspector General to help restore integrity and eliminate all | 11 | | forms of institutionalized wrongdoing in the Illinois | 12 | | Secretary of State's office; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns served as a strong, visible, and | 14 | | independent Inspector General for more than 20 years, which | 15 | | resulted in restoring the public trust and changing the | 16 | | culture of the Illinois Secretary of State's office; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was appointed by President Bill Clinton | 18 | | in 1993, at the recommendation of U.S. Senator Paul Simon, as | 19 | | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, a post he | 20 | | held until 1997; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns, as U.S. Attorney for the Northern |
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| 1 | | District of Illinois, managed an office of 250 staff members, | 2 | | including 130 federal prosecutors; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns, as U.S. Attorney for the Northern | 4 | | District of Illinois, prosecuted violent street gangs, public | 5 | | corruption, international drug smugglers, organized crime, | 6 | | white-collar financial fraud, environmental and civil rights | 7 | | violations, government contract fraud, and health care and | 8 | | insurance fraud; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns, prior to his appointment as U.S. | 10 | | Attorney for the Northern District, worked in private practice | 11 | | in Chicago, where he specialized in civil litigation, | 12 | | regulatory matters, sensitive investigations, and white-collar | 13 | | criminal defense; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was a fellow in the American College of | 15 | | Trial Lawyers; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns served as an assistant U.S. Attorney | 17 | | from 1971 to 1978, during which time he tried dozens of cases | 18 | | as a federal prosecutor, eventually attaining the position of | 19 | | Chief of the Criminal Litigation Division; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns played one year of professional | 21 | | basketball; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns earned both his Bachelor of Arts in | 2 | | History in 1967 and his law degree in 1971 from Northwestern | 3 | | University; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was an All-American and Academic | 5 | | All-American basketball player; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was long active in the academic, | 7 | | athletic, and alumni affairs of Northwestern University and | 8 | | served on the Board of Trustees and the Visiting Committee of | 9 | | the School of Law; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns received the Northwestern Alumni | 11 | | Association's Service Award and the Northwestern University's | 12 | | Law School Alumni Merit Award; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was selected in 1992 for the Silver | 14 | | Anniversary All-American Team by the National Association of | 15 | | Basketball Coaches, based on his outstanding basketball and | 16 | | career achievements; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns led McLeansboro High School to fourth | 18 | | place in the state basketball tournament; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns was born in Quincy and raised in |
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| 1 | | McLeansboro; he resided in Evanston for much of his adulthood | 2 | | and was a resident of Wilmette at the time of his death; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Jim Burns is survived by his beloved wife, Marty; | 4 | | his three children who filled him with pride, Camille, | 5 | | Heather, and Jim; and a grandson who he loved and adored, | 6 | | Jaany; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 8 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 9 | | we mourn the passing of Jim Burns and extend our sincere | 10 | | condolences to his family, his friends, his many coworkers, | 11 | | including Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, and all who | 12 | | knew and loved him; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
| 14 | | presented to the family of Jim Burns as an expression of our
| 15 | | deepest sympathy.
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