Full Text of HR1323 095th General Assembly
HR1323 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of | 4 |
| our friend and former colleague, Larry McKeon of Springfield, | 5 |
| formerly of Chicago, who passed away on May 13, 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, Larry McKeon was born on June 30, 1944 in Nampa, | 7 |
| Idaho; he received his bachelor's degree in political science | 8 |
| and his master's degree in public administration from | 9 |
| California State University in Los Angeles; he also worked | 10 |
| toward his Ph.D. in social service administration at the | 11 |
| University of Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, Larry McKeon served our country as a First | 13 |
| Lieutenant in the United States Army Infantry; he also served | 14 |
| as a lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's | 15 |
| Department and as a college professor and administrator before | 16 |
| moving to Illinois; prior to becoming a state legislator, | 17 |
| McKeon served as the director of information systems and | 18 |
| services for Metropolitan Family Services and was Mayor Richard | 19 |
| M. Daley's liaison to the LGBT community as the director of the | 20 |
| Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Gay | 21 |
| and Lesbian Issues; he also taught public administration at | 22 |
| Roosevelt University; and
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| WHEREAS, Larry McKeon is survived by his brothers, Gerald | 2 |
| and Dennis McKeon; he was preceded in death by his longtime | 3 |
| partner, Ray Korzinski, who passed away in 1990; and
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| WHEREAS, Larry McKeon was first elected to the Illinois | 5 |
| House of Representatives in 1996 and served until his | 6 |
| retirement in 2007; he represented the North Side of Chicago's | 7 |
| 34th and later 13th districts; he was the State's first openly | 8 |
| gay and HIV-positive legislator; he battled AIDS and cancer | 9 |
| with stoicism, grace, and a strong resolve not to let those | 10 |
| diseases impede his efforts on behalf of the causes in which he | 11 |
| believed, nor interfere with his desire to live a full and | 12 |
| productive life; he considered his biggest achievement as a | 13 |
| legislator his work to add the words "sexual orientation" to | 14 |
| the State's Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination against | 15 |
| people for jobs, housing, public accommodations, and credit; | 16 |
| this milestone, which was achieved in 2005, was the culmination | 17 |
| of 30 years of effort and struggle by thousands of individuals; | 18 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Larry McKeon thought of himself not as a gay | 20 |
| legislator, but as a legislator who happened to be gay, and was | 21 |
| a passionate and committed advocate on behalf of the powerless, | 22 |
| the vulnerable, and those who too often had no voice in the | 23 |
| legislative process; he worked diligently to expand health care | 24 |
| coverage for the uninsured, improve services for immigrants, |
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| bolster outreach and assistance programs for the homeless, | 2 |
| increase workplace safety protections and strengthen workers' | 3 |
| rights, and expand Uptown's Truman College; and
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| WHEREAS, As an Illinois State Representative, Larry McKeon | 5 |
| served on numerous House Committees, including the Labor | 6 |
| Committee as chairman, the Housing and Urban Development | 7 |
| Committee as vice chairman, and the Aging, Executive, and | 8 |
| Developmental Disabilities and Mental Illness Committees; he | 9 |
| also served on the Subcommittee on Agreed Labor Bills as | 10 |
| sub-chairman, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, the | 11 |
| Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, and the | 12 |
| Legislative Ethics Commission; and
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| WHEREAS, After his retirement, Larry McKeon served as a | 14 |
| volunteer lobbyist for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and could | 15 |
| be seen in the State House several times a week; he also was | 16 |
| the proud owner of a 2002 Winnebago Adventurer motor home that | 17 |
| he took on excursions across the United States, along with his | 18 |
| two rescued greyhounds, Hillary and Squiggy; and
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| WHEREAS, Larry McKeon was greatly admired by his colleagues | 20 |
| and friends for his intellect, sense of humor, easy-going | 21 |
| nature, kindness to others, and courage as a human rights | 22 |
| leader; he was a compassionate soul who was modest about his | 23 |
| important place in Illinois history and who truly strove to |
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| make the world a better place; he will be greatly missed but | 2 |
| never forgotten; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 4 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 5 |
| mourn, along with his family, friends, and the people who knew | 6 |
| and respected him across the State of Illinois, the passing of | 7 |
| our friend and colleague Larry McKeon; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 |
| presented to the family and friends of former State | 10 |
| Representative Larry McKeon as a symbol of our very sincere | 11 |
| sorrow and sympathy for their loss.
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