Full Text of SR0761 093rd General Assembly
SR0761 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 |
| learned with regret of the death of former Senate President | 4 |
| William "Bill" C. Harris of Pontiac on December 30, 2004; and
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| WHEREAS, Senator Harris was born May 7, 1921, in Pontiac to | 6 |
| Raleigh J. and Bernadine (Cullen) Harris; he graduated from | 7 |
| Pontiac grade and high schools; he entered Michigan State | 8 |
| University in the fall of 1941, and in December 1941, he | 9 |
| enlisted in the U.S. Navy; while at Great Lakes, he was named | 10 |
| honor man out of a class of 750 in the naval program; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Senator Harris valiantly served his country | 12 |
| during World War II as aviation chief ordinance man in the | 13 |
| South Pacific and was honorably discharged in December of 1945; | 14 |
| after returning to Pontiac, he joined the R.J. Harris Funeral | 15 |
| Home as a partner; on May 31, 1947, he married Jeanne Turck in | 16 |
| Pontiac at the original Grace Episcopal Church on the square; | 17 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, In May 1948, he became the charter president of | 19 |
| Pontiac Jaycees; he was also a charter member of the Saint | 20 |
| James Hospital advisory board, and a member of the Moose, | 21 |
| Pontiac Elks Lodge, Lions Club, Veterans of Foreign Wars, | 22 |
| American Legion, and the Voiture 8 et 8 in Pontiac; and
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| WHEREAS, First elected to the Illinois General Assembly in | 24 |
| 1954 at the age of 33, he was the House Whip during his six | 25 |
| years of tenure in that body; in 1960, he was elected to the | 26 |
| Senate, and during his 16 years of service, he held the | 27 |
| position of assistant majority leader and was elected the first | 28 |
| President of the Senate under the new Illinois Constitution; | 29 |
| during his tenure in the Senate, he was chairman of the | 30 |
| Budgetary Commission and was the first chairman of the Economic | 31 |
| and Fiscal Commission, successor to the Budgetary Commission, |
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| and he was elected "Most Effective Senator" three consecutive | 2 |
| years; and | 3 |
| WHEREAS, In 1977, he was appointed by Governor Jim Thompson | 4 |
| as Commissioner of Banks and Trust Companies, a position he | 5 |
| held until he retired in January 1991; while serving as | 6 |
| commissioner, he also served as chairman of the board of the | 7 |
| National Conference of State Bank Supervisors and was a board | 8 |
| member of the C.S.B.S., Washington, D.C., for eight years; and
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| WHEREAS, Senator Harris was a delegate to the Republican | 10 |
| National Convention in Miami in 1968; he served as trustee of | 11 |
| the Humiston Haven Nursing Home, trustee of the Appolos Camp, | 12 |
| Bennet Humiston Trust since 1975, and trustee on the Floyd and | 13 |
| Alta Byrne Trust; he served as a senior vice president of Cole | 14 |
| Taylor Bank, as a board member of the Community Bank of | 15 |
| Pittsfield, and as ambassador at-large to the Community Bankers | 16 |
| of Illinois; he was chairman of the World Trade Association of | 17 |
| Illinois for two years, a board member of the Cradle in | 18 |
| Evanston for many years, and then was an Emeritus Member of the | 19 |
| Cradle Board; he was a member of Grace Episcopal Church in | 20 |
| Pontiac; and
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| WHEREAS, A staunch Republican, Senator Harris was widely | 22 |
| respected regardless of partisan politics, and he will be | 23 |
| remembered as a great people person and as always having a | 24 |
| smile and an upbeat attitude; on the statewide scene, the City | 25 |
| of Pontiac was synonymous with Bill Harris; he was a part of | 26 |
| the history and depth of Pontiac and of Illinois history; in | 27 |
| the Senate, he was known to "reach across the political aisle" | 28 |
| and was supportive of needs across the State; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of William C. Harris has been felt by | 30 |
| many, especially his wife Jeanne; his children, Barbara A. | 31 |
| Harris and Charles M. (Robin) Harris; and his grandchildren, | 32 |
| Lindsey J. Schrof and Jenna Harris; he was preceded in death by |
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| his mother, Bernadine Harris; his father, Raleigh J. Harris; | 2 |
| his sister, Helen Elizabeth Harris; and his brother, Raleigh J. | 3 |
| Harris Jr.; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL | 5 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 6 |
| Senator William C. Harris, a man who will be remembered for his | 7 |
| integrity and thoroughness in the job, and we extend our | 8 |
| deepest sympathy to his family, friends, and all who knew and | 9 |
| loved him; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 12 |
| sympathy.
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