Full Text of HR0647 102nd General Assembly
HR0647 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 former | 4 | | Illinois State Senator and United States Congressman Harris W. | 5 | | Fawell of Naperville, who passed away on November 11, 2021; | 6 | | and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell was born to Walter and Mildred | 8 | | Fawell in West Chicago on March 25, 1929; he graduated from | 9 | | West Chicago High School; baseball was a family passion; | 10 | | alongside his brothers, twin Tom, Bruce, and Mike, he played | 11 | | in the Fox Valley baseball league, organized by their father, | 12 | | where they competed with enough zeal to earn the reputation as | 13 | | "the fighting Fawells"; he attended North Central College, | 14 | | during which his baseball skills earned him a brief stint with | 15 | | a Detroit Tigers minor league affiliation in Greenville, South | 16 | | Carolina; he earned his Juris Doctor from Kent College of Law | 17 | | in 1952; in that same year, he married Ruth Johnson; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell served as an assistant state's | 19 | | attorney for DuPage County; he then practiced law, first in | 20 | | West Chicago and then in Naperville; he was senior partner of | 21 | | the law firm of Fawell, James and Brooks, which found its home | 22 | | in the historic Scott house on Washington Street in | 23 | | Naperville, where his son-in-law and grandson practice law |
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| 1 | | today; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell served in the Illinois State | 3 | | Senate from 1963 to 1977; he was named Outstanding Freshman | 4 | | State Senator by the Illinois Press Association; during his | 5 | | time in the legislature, he sponsored legislation that | 6 | | provided park land for special needs children and adults | 7 | | throughout the State; he also created legislation that would | 8 | | have provided that developers donate park land to communities | 9 | | which, while defeated, led to the Naperville Land Cash | 10 | | Donation Ordinance; he also spearheaded the ordinance, | 11 | | resulting in the acquisition of acres of park land in | 12 | | Naperville; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell was elected to the U.S. House | 14 | | of Representatives in 1985, where he served until 1999; he | 15 | | co-founded the Porkbusters Coalition, a bipartisan group of | 16 | | representatives and senators that set its sight on fiscal | 17 | | bloat; he was the chief sponsor of 23 bills which eliminated $2 | 18 | | billion in pork barrel projects; he was also known for his | 19 | | expertise in labor and health issues and for his efforts to | 20 | | provide more equitable healthcare to workers in small | 21 | | businesses; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell, after leaving Congress, wrote | 23 | | articles on servant leadership that appeared in The |
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| 1 | | International Journal of Servant Leadership published by | 2 | | Gonzaga University; his essays reflected his interest in labor | 3 | | relations, an interest which had deepened during his time on | 4 | | the Education and Labor Committee in the U.S. House of | 5 | | Representatives; he also served on the Board of Trustees of | 6 | | North Central College; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In retirement, Congressman Fawell relished | 8 | | summers at his vacation home on Beaver Island, Michigan, where | 9 | | he and his wife hosted and entertained his ever increasing | 10 | | family; he knew scores of old jazz standards by heart and had a | 11 | | taste for American doggerel and folk poetry; he had a deep and | 12 | | abiding interest in spiritual issues and literature and found | 13 | | a warm community in the Community United Methodist Church in | 14 | | Naperville in his later years; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell was described as an atypical | 16 | | politician with a self-effacing profile who served with a | 17 | | human touch; his family knew him as a wise, philosophical, | 18 | | patient, and empathetic man with a subtle, sometimes biting, | 19 | | sense of humor and a playful gift for language; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Congressman Fawell is survived by his wife of 69 | 21 | | years, Ruth; his children, Richard (Yvonne), Jane (Robert | 22 | | Heap), and John (Yvette Begue); his eight grandchildren; his | 23 | | seven great-grandchildren; and his brother, Michael; |
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| 1 | | therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 3 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 4 | | we mourn the passing of former Illinois State Senator and | 5 | | United States Congressman Harris W. Fawell and extend our | 6 | | sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew | 7 | | and loved him; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to the family of former Congressman Fawell as an | 10 | | expression of our deepest sympathy.
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