Bill Text: IL SR1349 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares January 10, 2021 as Governor James "Big Jim" Thompson Day in the State of Illinois in recognition of the forty-fourth anniversary of his inauguration as governor and to recognize Governor Thompson's tireless leadership in the development and promotion of the State of Illinois.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SR1349 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-SR1349-Introduced.html
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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Governor James "Big Jim" Thompson was born in Oak | ||||||
| 3 | Park to J. Robert and Agnes Thompson on May 8, 1936; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson attended Samuel Morse Grade | ||||||
| 5 | School, North Park Academy, the University of Illinois at | ||||||
| 6 | Chicago, and Northwestern University; he earned a juris | ||||||
| 7 | doctorate from Northeastern University in 1959; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson married Jayne Carr, also of Oak | ||||||
| 9 | Park, and they had a daughter, Samantha; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson was dedicated to public service | ||||||
| 11 | and served as prosecutor in Cook County from 1959 to 1964; he | ||||||
| 12 | then took a position as an associate professor at Northwestern | ||||||
| 13 | University Law School and co-authored several textbooks; he | ||||||
| 14 | accepted a position in the Illinois Attorney General's Office | ||||||
| 15 | in 1969, serving as chief of the Department of Law Enforcement | ||||||
| 16 | and Public Protection; he became a first assistant U.S. | ||||||
| 17 | attorney in 1970; he was appointed a U.S. attorney in 1971, a | ||||||
| 18 | position he used to address public corruption and voter fraud | ||||||
| 19 | in Cook County; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson successfully ran on the | ||||||
| 21 | Republican ticket for governor of Illinois in 1976 and was | ||||||
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| 1 | subsequently re-elected in 1978, 1982, and 1986, becoming the | ||||||
| 2 | longest-serving governor in Illinois history, serving from | ||||||
| 3 | 1977 to 1991; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson is credited for his tireless | ||||||
| 5 | efforts to benefit the State of Illinois; he is particularly | ||||||
| 6 | remembered for navigating the State through the economic | ||||||
| 7 | malaise of the 1970s to the economic prosperity of the 1980s, | ||||||
| 8 | retaining the Chicago White Sox in Illinois, creating the | ||||||
| 9 | Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, and constructing the | ||||||
| 10 | Chicago office building, the James R. Thompson Center, that now | ||||||
| 11 | bears his name; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, After his retirement from public office, Governor | ||||||
| 13 | Thompson joined the Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn and | ||||||
| 14 | continued to serve the public on a number of boards and | ||||||
| 15 | commissions, most notably the 9-11 Commission; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Governor Thompson passed away August 14, 2020, at | ||||||
| 17 | the age of 84 at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago; his | ||||||
| 18 | death elicited praise for and commemoration of his service to | ||||||
| 19 | the State of Illinois from Republicans and Democrats alike; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, his | ||||||
| 21 | family has chosen not to hold a public funeral or memorial | ||||||
| 22 | service at this time; therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
| 2 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare January 10, | ||||||
| 3 | 2021 as Governor James "Big Jim" Thompson Day in the State of | ||||||
| 4 | Illinois in recognition of the forty-fourth anniversary of his | ||||||
| 5 | inauguration as governor and to recognize Governor Thompson's | ||||||
| 6 | tireless leadership in the development and promotion of the | ||||||
| 7 | State of Illinois; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to Jayne Thompson as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
| 10 | esteem.
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