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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, It is appropriate to honor those who have
3bettered the State of Illinois through public service; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Congressman Johnson was born in Champaign to
5Robert and Margaret Evans Johnson on July 23, 1946; he spent
6his childhood in Urbana and graduated from Urbana High School;
7he attended the University of Illinois, graduated Phi Beta
8Kappa, and was honored with the Bronze Tablet, the
9university's highest undergraduate honor; he was accepted to
10the University of Illinois College of Law and graduated with
11high honors and was elected to the Order of Coif, the national
12legal honor society, in 1972; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In 1971, while still in college, Congressman
14Johnson began his long career in public service by winning a
15seat on the Urbana City Council, representing the same ward
16that his father had represented; in his four years on the city
17council, he demonstrated to people throughout Central Illinois
18that he had a gift for crafting sound policies and taking care
19of the day-to-day needs of the people he represented; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Upon urging by community leaders, Congressman
21Johnson decided to run for a seat in the Illinois State
22Legislature; in 1976, he won a seat in the Illinois House by

 

 

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1besting five other Republicans in a tough, but civil, primary;
2he held that seat in the statehouse for more than two decades;
3he resigned as state representative from the 104th District on
4November 13, 2000, one week after being elected to the United
5States House of Representatives to serve the 15th District of
6Illinois; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Congressman Johnson established a strong record
8of constituent service and was known for walking the Capitol
9hallways with a cell phone pressed to his ear as he talked to
10constituents, asking their opinions and addressing their
11problems; and
 
12    WHEREAS, While responding to the needs of his district
13residents was a top priority, Congressman Johnson was also a
14strong and independent voice on Capitol Hill and pushed for
15lower taxes, fought to bring federal dollars home to Illinois
16universities, was a strong advocate for civil liberties, voted
17consistently to protect our First, Second, and Fourth
18Amendment Rights, and voted to protect our environment; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Congressman Johnson was a leading advocate for
20the expansion of the use of bio fuels and paid special
21attention to the needs of veterans; he continued his tradition
22of opposing tax increases, promoting fiscal responsibility,
23and upholding conservative, common sense values in the United

 

 

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1States Congress; most of all, he wanted to rekindle the spark
2in the nation's agricultural economy that is vital to the
3health of the region, nation, and world; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Congressman Johnson retired from congress at the
5end of his term in 2013; therefore, be it
 
6    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
7ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF
8REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the
9section of Interstate 57 from I-74 South to Exit 232 as the
10"Congressman Tim Johnson Highway"; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation
12is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with
13State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs
14giving notice of the name "Congressman Tim Johnson Highway";
15and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be sent
17to Congressman Tim Johnson, the Mayor of Champaign, and the
18Secretary of Transportation.