Bill Text: IL HR0868 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the passing of former Illinois State Representative and U.S. Congressman Timothy Vincent "Tim" Johnson. Recognizes his lengthy public service. States that the heritage of American elected officials reaching out to their constituents of both parties, talking to them, asking for advice, and acting as their public servants rather than as their masters is a memory that is flickering but can never fade away.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-11-15 - Resolution Adopted [HR0868 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HR0868-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former | ||||||
4 | Illinois State Representative and U.S. Congressman Timothy | ||||||
5 | Vincent "Tim" Johnson, who passed away on May 9, 2022 at his | ||||||
6 | home in Urbana, among family and friends; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Lifelong Champaign County native and resident | ||||||
8 | Congressman Johnson was born on July 23, 1946 in Champaign; he | ||||||
9 | pursued his education in the twin cities of his birth, | ||||||
10 | graduating from Urbana High School in 1964 and then attending | ||||||
11 | the University of Illinois; he earned a bachelor's degree in | ||||||
12 | 1969 (Phi Beta Kappa) and a juris doctorate in 1972 (Order of | ||||||
13 | the Coif); and
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14 | WHEREAS, Even more significant to Congressman Johnson than | ||||||
15 | these academic honors was his family heritage; on his mother's | ||||||
16 | side, his grandfather was McLean County Republican stalwart | ||||||
17 | Arthur Evans; his own father, Robert Johnson, followed the | ||||||
18 | path of public service for many years in Champaign County, | ||||||
19 | rising to membership of the Urbana City Council and serving as | ||||||
20 | the Chairman of the Champaign County Republican Party; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Even in the 1960's, Champaign County was not | ||||||
22 | quite as Republican as other downstate Illinois counties; |
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1 | Congressman Johnson's father, despite his partisan role, | ||||||
2 | developed a reputation as a can-do problem solver who would | ||||||
3 | work with neighbors of both parties to get things done for | ||||||
4 | Champaign-Urbana; and
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5 | WHEREAS, During his time in law school and after | ||||||
6 | graduation, Congressman Johnson served as a teaching assistant | ||||||
7 | in the U of I's College of Commerce and College of Law; and
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8 | WHEREAS, While in law school, Congressman Johnson turned | ||||||
9 | his attention to politics, seeking and winning his father's | ||||||
10 | seat on the Urbana City Council, on which his service began in | ||||||
11 | 1971; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Upon the retirement of Rep. John C. Hirschfeld in | ||||||
13 | 1976, Congressman Johnson sought the nomination for what was | ||||||
14 | then an open Republican seat in the 52nd District, which | ||||||
15 | encompassed part of Champaign County as well as Douglas and | ||||||
16 | Moultrie Counties; in a six-candidate race, he won the | ||||||
17 | nomination, having not yet celebrated his 30th birthday; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Elected to the Illinois House of Representatives | ||||||
19 | in the fall of America's bicentennial year, Congressman | ||||||
20 | Johnson began a 24 year career in Illinois's largest | ||||||
21 | legislative chamber; working with the House Judiciary II – | ||||||
22 | Criminal Law Committee, he made many suggestions to improve |
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1 | the criminal laws of Illinois; and
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2 | WHEREAS, As a powerful voice for downstate Illinois, | ||||||
3 | Congressman Johnson was named Deputy Minority Leader by House | ||||||
4 | Republican Leader Lee A. Daniels, serving in this role | ||||||
5 | continuously except in 1995-96 when Republicans organized the | ||||||
6 | Illinois House and his role was that of Illinois House Deputy | ||||||
7 | Majority Leader; and
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8 | WHEREAS, In 2000, upon the retirement of Congressman Tom | ||||||
9 | Ewing, Congressman Johnson took the opportunity to seek | ||||||
10 | nomination and election from his east central Illinois home to | ||||||
11 | the United States House of Representatives; and
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12 | WHEREAS, As a member of Congress, Congressman Johnson | ||||||
13 | served on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure | ||||||
14 | Committee and the U.S. House Agriculture Committee; in this | ||||||
15 | latter committee, he served as the chairman of the | ||||||
16 | Subcommittee on Rural Development, Research, Biotechnology, | ||||||
17 | and Foreign Agriculture; and
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18 | WHEREAS, As a member of Congress and of the Agriculture | ||||||
19 | and Transportation Committees, Congressman Johnson placed | ||||||
20 | corn-based ethanol and America-grown biodiesel fuels at the | ||||||
21 | center of American life; facing down some of America's largest | ||||||
22 | business firms, he worked with other corn belt lawmakers to |
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1 | successfully demand that ethanol-blended motor fuels become | ||||||
2 | the octane enhancer of choice at American motor fuel retail | ||||||
3 | pumps nationwide; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Congressman Johnson was a member of many | ||||||
5 | congressional caucuses; as the partisan gap between the two | ||||||
6 | parties widened in Washington and elsewhere, and remembering | ||||||
7 | his father's heritage of working across the aisle, he was the | ||||||
8 | co-founder and Co-chairman of the Center Aisle Caucus; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Congressman Johnson took care to stay in touch | ||||||
10 | with his constituents back home in Illinois; many homes in | ||||||
11 | central Illinois remember their phone ringing on some evening | ||||||
12 | and hearing the voice of their old friend checking in with | ||||||
13 | them, asking how they were doing, and seeking nonpartisan | ||||||
14 | advice on the great issues of the day; and
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15 | WHEREAS, After 12 years in the U.S. House, Congressman | ||||||
16 | Johnson decided, in 2012, that his work was done; he returned | ||||||
17 | home to central Illinois and resumed a schedule of public | ||||||
18 | teaching, including appointments at Illinois State University | ||||||
19 | (2013-2014), Danville Area Community College (2014), and the | ||||||
20 | College of Liberal Arts at his alma mater, the University of | ||||||
21 | Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2014); and
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22 | WHEREAS, In 2013, Congressman Johnson was awarded the |
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1 | Order of Lincoln by the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, the | ||||||
2 | highest-ranking honor that an Illinoisan can receive for | ||||||
3 | service to the people; therefore, be it
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4 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
5 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
6 | we mourn the passing of former Illinois State Representative | ||||||
7 | and U.S. Congressman Timothy Vincent "Tim" Johnson and extend | ||||||
8 | our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who | ||||||
9 | knew and loved him; and be it further
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10 | RESOLVED, That we recognize the lengthy public service of | ||||||
11 | Congressman Johnson; and be it further
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12 | RESOLVED, That the heritage of American elected officials | ||||||
13 | reaching out to their constituents of both parties, talking to | ||||||
14 | them, asking for advice, and acting as their public servants | ||||||
15 | rather than as their masters is a memory that is flickering but | ||||||
16 | can never fade away; and be it further
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17 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
18 | presented to Congressman Johnson's daughter, Heather | ||||||
19 | Stephenson.
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