Bill Text: IL SR2152 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Honors and thanks Senator Bill Haine for his dedicated service to the people of Illinois.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Passed) 2018-11-13 - Resolution Adopted [SR2152 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-SR2152-Introduced.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Fifty years ago, Bill Haine, a recent graduate
from St. Louis University, enlisted in the United States Army
and went to war in Vietnam, where he was a member of the 1st
Cavalry Division Airmobile from 1967 until 1969; enlisting was
the first step in a lifetime of distinguished public service
that also includes a Bronze Star for combat services, election
to the Madison County Board, 14 years as Madison County State's
Attorney, and service in the Illinois Senate since 2002; and
WHEREAS, In 2017, Senator Haine announced that this would
be his final term in the Illinois Senate, where he has loyally
represented the 56th Senate District, which includes the
communities of Caseyville, East Alton, Edwardsville, Granite
City, Wood River, and his beloved hometown of Alton; and
WHEREAS, Senator Haine has battled multiple myeloma, a form
of blood cancer, and treatments kept him away from the Capitol
for most of the 2017 legislative session; however, he returned
to cast the deciding votes on a balanced budget, which ended
the state's two-year financial impasse, and the Senate's
override of the governor's veto of a historic school funding
overhaul; and
WHEREAS, Senator Haine is a true historian, who often

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sprinkles legislative debates with rhetorical lessons and
anecdotes from the works of Roman emperors, a litany of popes
spanning civilized history, and the founding fathers; he has
long been an advocate for the genius of American democracy and
for what James Madison described as the ordered liberty of the
legislative process as a constitutional foil to the corrupting
evils of demagoguery and mob rule; and
WHEREAS, Senator Haine's tenure in Springfield has been
marked by practical politics rather than political agendas; at
times, his focus has been big; and
WHEREAS, Senator Haine was the legislative architect of a
sweeping plan to modernize the levee system in the Metro East
region, an effort that has helped protect homes and businesses
from flood damage in recent years; and
WHEREAS, Senator Haine helped win state investment in
maintaining and expanding the growing Edwardsville campus of
Southern Illinois University and other key infrastructures,
including I-255; and
WHEREAS, Senator Haine worked to keep the Wood River
Refinery expansion on track and similarly led successful
efforts to approve a Constitutional Amendment protecting the
State's Road Fund from being raided for

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non-transportation-related spending; and
WHEREAS, Senator Haine drew upon his distinguished,
award-winning law enforcement background from his time as
Madison County State's Attorney to sponsor, negotiate, and win
approval of the state's medical marijuana law that balanced
compassionate use with stringent standards and regulations;
and
WHEREAS, At the same time, Senator Haine kept an eye out
for injustice at any level; in response to media reports of
motorists being forced to pay outrageous fees to have towed
vehicles released from impound lots, he sponsored and passed
consumer protections limiting those charges and ending abuse;
and
WHEREAS, To protect jobs at the US Steel plant in Granite
City, Senator Haine rallied the Illinois Senate to protest
China's dumping of low quality, cheap steel into the U.S.
market; and
WHEREAS, Despite Senator Haine's many awards and
accomplishments, he considers the crowning achievement of his
life to be his marriage to his wife, Anna, whom he met in
college, and the family they have built together; and

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WHEREAS, Senator Haine and Anna have seven children,
Cecilia, Elizabeth, Mary, Margaret, Alice, Thomas, and Joseph;
at the time of this reading, they have 33 grandchildren,
Alexander, Madeleine, Eleanor, Gabriel, Xavier, Leo, Helen,
Emil, Karol, Mary, William, Margaret, Judith Anna, Rosaria,
James, Stella, Faith, Edward, John, Peter, Agnes, Joseph, Jude,
Mercea, Anna, Mary, James, Lucia, Peter, Cecilia, Anselm,
Joseph, and Gabriel; they have one great-grandchild, Julian;
and
WHEREAS, Senator Haine's future plans include spending
time with all of them; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Senator Bill
Haine for his dedicated service to the people of Illinois and
honor him with this resolution; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to Senator Haine as an expression of our esteem and
respect, and we send our best wishes as he sets forth on his
next adventure.