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92_HR0008
LRB9203340KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to express their sincere condolences to
4 the family and friends of former State Representative Leland
5 Rayson, who recently passed away; and
6 WHEREAS, Leland Rayson was a graduate of Pittsford High
7 School in New York, a 1946 graduate of the University of
8 Rochester, and received his law degree from Northwestern
9 University in 1949; and
10 WHEREAS, Leland Rayson served in the United States Navy
11 during World War II; he served in the South Pacific,
12 including the Battle of Okinawa; he later retired from the
13 Naval Reserves as a lieutenant commander; and
14 WHEREAS, Representative Rayson was first elected to the
15 Illinois House of Representatives in 1964, and was re-elected
16 continously until his retirement in 1977; while serving the
17 people of Illinois, he was voted best legislator each term
18 that he served by the Independent Voters of Illinois; and
19 WHEREAS, While serving in the General Assembly, Leland
20 Rayson was a fiercely independent, progressive legislator who
21 championed liberal causes; he sponsored bills to legalize
22 marijuana and certain types of abortion, to provide health
23 care for migrant workers, to protect the environment, to
24 require periodic reports of political campaign finances, to
25 permit victims of violent crimes to be compensated with State
26 funds, and to reduce the voting age to eighteen; and
27 WHEREAS, Before serving as a Legislator, Leland Rayson
28 co-published the Palos-Worth Reporter, a weekly newspaper and
29 worked as a real estate broker, in addition to practicing
30 law; he also served as the Bremen Township assessor, on a
31 local school board, and as a justice of the peace; and
-2- LRB9203340KBkb
1 WHEREAS, After his retirement from the State House,
2 Leland Rayson resumed his law practice and served as a
3 hearing officer for the Cook County Department of Public Aid;
4 he and his wife retired to Port St. Lucie, Florida in 1988;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, The passing of former State Representative
7 Leland Rayson will be deeply felt by all who knew him,
8 especially his wife, Barbara; his daughter, Ann; his sons,
9 John, William, Anthony, Leland Harvey, Dr. Thomas, and James;
10 his brothers, Dr. Glendon and Delwyn; his sister, Rohana
11 Rattay; his fifteen grandchildren; his great-granddaugher;
12 and his many friends and former colleagues; therefore, be it
13 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15 we mourn, along with his many loved ones, the passing of
16 former State Representative Leland Rayson; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to the family of Leland Rayson.