State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SR0488

 
                                               LRB9217521BHbh

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are  saddened
 3    to  learn  of  the  death of William E. Hartnett, formerly of
 4    Grayslake, who passed away July 21, 2002; and

 5        WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett  was  born  December  4,  1919,  in
 6    Chicago; he enlisted in the Army prior to the attack on Pearl
 7    Harbor  and  requested  a transfer to train as a pilot in the
 8    Army Air Corps; during World War II, he flew 58 missions over
 9    France and the Netherlands piloting a  B-26  Martin  Marauder
10    named the Chicago Cyclone, and later was a flight instructor;
11    he was discharged a highly decorated captain in 1945; and

12        WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett was a veteran Lake County attorney,
13    law  maker,  and  Democratic  Party  activist;  during a long
14    political and legal career, he was a former chairman  of  the
15    Lake  County Democratic Party, a legislator, and candidate in
16    1970 for the Illinois Supreme Court; and

17        WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett often clashed with county Democrats
18    over a number  of  issues,  including  establishment  of  the
19    College   of   Lake  County,  and  party  ideals  during  his
20    chairmanship of the Democratic Party from 1962  to  1964;  he
21    took on Republican opponents with relish; and

22        WHEREAS,  In  1978, Mr. Hartnett sued then Governor James
23    Thompson for discrepancies over  a  petition  for  a  tax-cap
24    amendment,   claiming   forgery  by  Lake  County  Republican
25    Leaders; and

26        WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett was first elected to  the  Illinois
27    House  in  1964 on the so-called "bed sheet ballot", the only
28    statewide election  of  118  legislators  after  the  General
29    Assembly failed to agree on redistricting; and

30        WHEREAS,  During his lone two-year term in the House, Mr.
31    Hartnett helped write the State's Junior College Act and  was
 
                            -2-                LRB9217521BHbh
 1    instrumental  in  the  establishment  of  the College of Lake
 2    County; later, he became the college's attorney; and

 3        WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett first practiced law in the  McHenry
 4    County  seat  of  Woodstock after receiving his law degree in
 5    1947 from the University of Virginia; in 1953,  he  became  a
 6    trial  lawyer  with the National Labor Relations Board in St.
 7    Louis; two years later, he moved  back  to  Lake  County  and
 8    established his private practice in Waukegan; and

 9        WHEREAS,  Mr.  Hartnett  represented  a  number of firms,
10    including  The  News  Sun,  many  labor  unions  and   school
11    districts,   and   was  a  defense  counsel  for  State  Farm
12    Insurance; and

13        WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett was a member of the Lake County and
14    Illinois State Bar Associations, several charitable and civic
15    organizations,   and   the   Aircraft   Owners   and   Pilots
16    Association; and

17        WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett will be deeply missed by all  those
18    who  knew  him and loved him, especially his wife, Betty; his
19    two sons, William R. Hartnett and Jeffrey Hartnett;  his  two
20    daughters,  Emilie  Downs  and  Elizabeth  Hartnett;  and his
21    eleven grandchildren; therefore, be it

22        RESOLVED, BY THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-SECOND  GENERAL
23    ASSEMBLY  OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
24    all those who knew him and loved him, the death of William E.
25    Hartnett; and be it further

26        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
27    presented  to the family of William Hartnett as an expression
28    of our esteem.

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