Bill Text: IL HJR0109 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Designates the State of Illinois building that houses the Illinois State Museum at 502 South Spring Street in Springfield as the "Alan J. Dixon Building".
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-12-04 - Adopted Both Houses [HJR0109 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2013-HJR0109-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly takes pride in | ||||||
3 | recognizing the accomplishments and
contributions of State | ||||||
4 | officials and citizens; and
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5 | WHEREAS, In recognition of the lasting legacy and many | ||||||
6 | sacrifices that Alan J. Dixon made for the
citizenry of the | ||||||
7 | State, the General Assembly wishes to bestow upon him the rare
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8 | distinction of naming a public building in his honor; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon spent his life serving the people of | ||||||
10 | the State and was
known for his work ethic and ability to | ||||||
11 | foster cooperation and compromise across party lines; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon was born in Belleville on July 7, | ||||||
13 | 1927; he graduated from Belleville
Township High School, earned | ||||||
14 | his bachelor's degree in 1949 from the University of Illinois | ||||||
15 | at
Urbana-Champaign, and earned his Juris Doctor from | ||||||
16 | Washington University School of Law in
St. Louis, Missouri; he | ||||||
17 | served in the United States Navy Air Corps during World War II | ||||||
18 | and
began his 43-year political career in law school when he | ||||||
19 | was elected to serve as Belleville
Police Magistrate; and
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20 | WHEREAS, At the age of 22, Alan J. Dixon was elected one of | ||||||
21 | the youngest legislators ever to
serve in the Illinois House of |
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1 | Representatives, and served as a State Representative from
1951 | ||||||
2 | to 1963; he was an advocate for higher education and | ||||||
3 | co-sponsored legislation that
produced Illinois's community | ||||||
4 | college system; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon served in the Illinois State Senate | ||||||
6 | from 1963 to 1971, rising to
Assistant Democratic Leader; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon was elected to serve as Illinois | ||||||
8 | Treasurer from 1971 to 1977; from
1977 to 1981, he served as | ||||||
9 | Illinois Secretary of State, an office he won by a margin
of | ||||||
10 | 1,300,000 votes; and
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11 | WHEREAS, In 1980, Alan J. Dixon won his first election to | ||||||
12 | the United States Senate by more
than 600,000 votes; he won his | ||||||
13 | re-election to the United States Senate in 1986 by more than
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14 | 950,000 votes; he served until 1993; and
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15 | WHEREAS, In 1988, and again in 1990, Alan J. Dixon was | ||||||
16 | unanimously selected by his party
colleagues to serve as the | ||||||
17 | Chief Deputy Whip of the United States Senate, the number 3
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18 | leadership post; he enjoyed an unbroken string of 29 election | ||||||
19 | victories; and
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20 | WHEREAS, At the request of President Bill Clinton, Alan J. | ||||||
21 | Dixon served as Chairman of the
Defense Base Closure and |
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1 | Realignment Commission in 1994 and 1995, a job that called for | ||||||
2 | both
national defense knowledge and good political ties with | ||||||
3 | both Democrats and Republicans; as former Chairman of the | ||||||
4 | Senate Armed Services Subcommittee he was mutually respected by | ||||||
5 | both parties; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon was a partner with the St. Louis, | ||||||
7 | Missouri based law firm, Bryan
Cave, LLP, where he served | ||||||
8 | corporate and government clients; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Lindenwood University-Belleville, formerly the | ||||||
10 | Belleville Township High School,
named its student center after | ||||||
11 | Alan J. Dixon in 2011 in his honor and thanked him for his
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12 | achievements and efforts on behalf of his hometown of | ||||||
13 | Belleville; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon's memoir, "The Gentleman from | ||||||
15 | Illinois: Stories from Forty Years of
Elective Public Service", | ||||||
16 | was published in 2013 by Southern Illinois University Press; | ||||||
17 | and
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18 | WHEREAS, Alan J. Dixon died in his home on July 6, 2014, | ||||||
19 | one day shy of his 87th birthday; he is survived by his spouse | ||||||
20 | of 60 years, Joan "Jody" Fox Dixon; 3 children, Stephanie,
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21 | Jeffrey, and Elizabeth; 8 grandchildren; and 7 | ||||||
22 | great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
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1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
2 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
3 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the State of | ||||||
4 | Illinois building that houses the Illinois State Museum at 502 | ||||||
5 | South Spring Street in Springfield as the "Alan J. Dixon | ||||||
6 | Building"; and be it further
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7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
8 | presented to Alan J.
Dixon's surviving spouse, Joan "Jody" Fox | ||||||
9 | Dixon and to the Department of Natural Resources.
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