Bill Text: IL HJR0127 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourns the death of James Robert Thompson Jr., the 37th Governor of Illinois.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 43-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-01-08 - Resolution Adopted [HJR0127 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HJR0127-Introduced.html

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, James Robert Thompson Jr., the 37th Governor of
Illinois, was born on May 8, 1936 in Chicago; as a child and
young adult, he pursued an education in the American Midwest,
taking college courses at the University of Illinois at Chicago
(Navy Pier) and graduating from Washington University in St.
Louis; and
WHEREAS, As an aspiring lawyer, Gov. Jim Thompson studied
at Northwestern University's School of Law, earning his Juris
Doctor degree in 1959; he was subsequently admitted to the
Illinois bar and began pursuing a lifelong legal career; and
WHEREAS, Gov. Jim Thompson began his legal career as a
practitioner in public service, earning experience in the
office of the Cook County State's Attorney, where as a
26-year-old lawyer, he argued the landmark case of Escobedo v.
Illinois in the United States Supreme Court; after several
years as an associate professor at the Northwestern University
School of Law, he joined the office of the United States
Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois as First
Assistant U.S. Attorney; during this time, he authored several
textbooks on criminal law and procedure; and
WHEREAS, In 1971, Gov. Jim Thompson was appointed by

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President Richard Nixon to serve as the United States Attorney
for the Northern District of Illinois, which encompasses all of
metropolitan Chicago; and
WHEREAS, As the U.S. Attorney with responsibility for
prosecuting federal offenses committed in the greater Chicago
area, Gov. Jim Thompson became legendary among his fellow
federal prosecutors and among the citizens of Illinois for his
aggressive pursuit of criminals in both organized and white
collar crimes; and
WHEREAS, During his time as a U.S. Attorney, Gov. Jim
Thompson and his office won a string of convictions, with
targets ranging from organized criminal figures involved in
illegal drug distribution to corrupt elected public officials,
including a high-profile conviction of federal judge Otto
Kerner, a former governor; and
WHEREAS, In November of 1976, Gov. Jim Thompson ran as a
member of the Republican Party on a "War on Crime" platform; he
won the office of Governor of Illinois with a landslide margin
of more than 1.3 million votes from his fellow Illinoisans; and
WHEREAS, In pursuit of one of the principal planks of his
election platform, Gov. Jim Thompson worked with the law
enforcement community and with the Illinois General Assembly to

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develop comprehensive amendatory language within the Criminal
Code of 1961, with a focus on illegal drug distribution and
violent criminal offenses; and
WHEREAS, A key feature of the rewritten Criminal Code added
a new classification of punishment, the Class X felony, for
which a variety of serious offenders could be sentenced to
serve terms of from six to 30 years in a State correctional
center; and
WHEREAS, Due to a quirk in the then-new Illinois
Constitution of 1970, the term of office to which Gov. Jim
Thompson had been elected in November of 1976 was only two
years long; he ran for re-election in 1978, winning by almost
600,000 votes; and
WHEREAS, In his second term, Gov. Jim Thompson faced the
worldwide inflationary spiral and energy crisis of 1979-80; as
challenges grew, he built alliances downstate, including the
selection of sites for new State correctional centers to be
built to house the rapidly increasing number of inmates that
were the result of the new Class X felony law; and
WHEREAS, In his closest elective contest in 1982, Gov. Jim
Thompson was elected to his third term by a margin of 5,074
votes, less than one vote per precinct; the same election saw

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the Democratic Party win large margins in the Illinois House of
Representatives and the Illinois Senate, which they would enjoy
for the rest of his time in office; and
WHEREAS, As a third-term Republican governor facing
Democratic legislative majorities, Gov. Jim Thompson turned to
the deal-making for which he is remembered; in 1985, he
developed and worked with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle
to enact Build Illinois, the statewide infrastructure program;
and
WHEREAS, Gov. Jim Thompson demanded that all citizens of
Illinois be included in the progress of this great State; this
included the expansion of interstate highways to previously
underserved areas of Illinois, as well as securing the Illinois
State Fair and the DuQuoin State Fair, where he is still
remembered fondly; and
WHEREAS, Gov. Jim Thompson brought his love of art and
history to office with him, making cultural preservation a part
of state government, including the establishment of the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, requiring that all
state building construction include budgets for art, and
personally orchestrating the purchase of the Dana-Thomas house
in Springfield, a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece now enjoyed by
people from Illinois and around the world; and

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WHEREAS, Running on a platform that included continuance of
Build Illinois initiatives, Gov. Jim Thompson sought election
to his fourth and final term, winning in November of 1986 by a
landslide margin of almost 400,000 votes; and
WHEREAS, Gov. Jim Thompson chose not to seek re-election in
November of 1990, retiring from the Governor's Mansion after
four terms that spanned 14 years in office, the longest period
of time enjoyed as governor by any individual up to that date,
or at any time since; and
WHEREAS, Gov. Jim Thompson was a loyal Republican, always
responsive to the members of his own party who requested his
assistance, but also was willing and eager to negotiate and
compromise with Democratic leaders, who controlled one or both
houses of the Illinois General Assembly during much of the time
of his governorship; and
WHEREAS, After leaving office as governor in January of
1991 and returning to the private sector, Gov. Jim Thompson
once again took up the active practice of law, joining the
international firm of Winston & Strawn as CEO and building a
network of legal professionals that would, by the time of his
retirement from that firm, span the globe; and

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WHEREAS, In addition to his work with Winston & Strawn,
Gov. Jim Thompson was appointed to a series of positions that
reflected his standing in the highest ranks of American private
citizens; in 1990, he was appointed by President George H.W.
Bush to chair the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, the
panel that protects independent oversight over the national
security/intelligence organs of the United States, serving in
this role until 1993; and
WHEREAS, In 2002, Gov. Jim Thompson was appointed to serve
on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United
States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, to examine and
report on U.S. preparedness for the events of 9/11/01; he
helped draft the commission's report, of which the public
portion was completed and released in 2004; and
WHEREAS, Gov. Jim Thompson is best remembered as a loyal
friend and peerless mentor; in his professional life, his
proudest moments were watching the myriad successes of his
protegees; as a prosecutor, governor, and an attorney in the
private sector, he fostered the careers of countless women and
men who have moved to the highest ranks in their profession; as
governor, he sought out the highest levels of talent and
selected for promotion a list of public servants that includes
his successor Jim Edgar, the 38th Governor of Illinois; and

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WHEREAS, Gov. Jim Thompson was happiest with his beloved
family, including his wife of 44 years, Jayne Carr Thompson,
and his daughter, Samantha; in later years, he was often found
babysitting his granddaughter, Persephone, who was the light of
his life; and
WHEREAS, As a politician, a public servant, a lawyer, and a
senior legal executive, Gov. Jim Thompson was noted for his
gregarious personality; his larger than life persona enabled
him to convey an effortless atmosphere of power and dignity;
even when sliding down the giant slide at the Illinois State
Fairgrounds, his joyous embrace of the governorship endeared
him to citizens from all over the State of Illinois; therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we mourn the death of James R.
Thompson, elected four times as Governor of Illinois, the
longest period of time enjoyed by any Illinoisan in our State's
highest office; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
presented to Gov. Jim Thompson's widow, Jayne Carr Thompson,
and to his daughter, Samantha, his son-in-law, Anastasios
Thomazos, and his granddaughter, Persephone.