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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois learned with great sadness of the death of
4 their colleague, Senator Vince Demuzio, on Tuesday, April 27,
5 2004; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio was born on May 7, 1941, in
7 Gillespie; he attended S & S Simon and Jude Catholic School and
8 Gillespie High School; he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in
9 education and human services from the University of Illinois at
10 Springfield in 1981; he earned a Master of Arts degree in
11 education and public policy from the same school in 1996; he
12 received an Honorary Doctorate from Lewis & Clark Community
13 College, and a Doctor of Laws, Honorist Causa, Degree from
14 Blackburn College; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio was currently the Senate Majority
16 Leader, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, and Dean of the
17 Illinois Senate, having served in the upper chamber since 1975;
18 he was also a member of the education, executive, and executive
19 appointments committees; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Prior to his election to the Illinois Senate from
21 the 49th legislative district, he served as Executive Director
22 of the Illinois Valley Economic Development Corporation, a
23 community action agency providing programs in job training,
24 senior citizen nutrition, day care, sheltered workshops for the
25 physically and mentally handicapped, and other social
26 services; and
 
27     WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio was appointed Assistant Senate
28 Majority Leader in the 83rd General Assembly (1983-1984) and
29 was reappointed in the 84th, 85th, 86th, and 87th General
30 Assemblies; in January of 1993, he was appointed Assistant
31 Democratic Leader of the 88th General Assembly and again

 

 

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1 reappointed in January of 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2001; Senator
2 Demuzio was one of the General Assembly's leading spokesmen for
3 the interests of downstate Illinois; he was also a member of
4 the Legislative Audit Commission and served on the Steering
5 Committee to re-examine the Illinois Constitution; he served on
6 both the 1991 and 2001 Legislative Redistricting Commissions;
7 and
 
8     WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio was elected to the Illinois
9 Democratic State Central Committee from the 20th Congressional
10 District in 1982, and re-elected in 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998;
11 he was elected Chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party in
12 April of 1986 and served through April of 1990; he also served
13 as Chairman of the Illinois delegation to the Democratic
14 National Convention in Atlanta in 1988 and as a member of the
15 Democratic National Committee's Executive Committee; he was
16 the first Chairman elected from downstate Illinois in more than
17 40 years and is credited with rebuilding the infrastructure of
18 the Illinois Democratic Party; and
 
19     WHEREAS, In the post-Watergate era, Vince Demuzio is
20 credited with bringing legislative and Democratic Party
21 reforms with a like-minded group of lawmakers affectionately
22 known as the "Crazy Eight"; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio received numerous distinguished
24 legislative service awards during his tenure; he served as
25 Secretary of the Blackburn College Board of Trustees in
26 Carlinville, Vice Chair of the Carlinville Hospital Board, and
27 he was on the Board of Directors for Kemmerer Village, a child
28 care agency, in Assumption; he was a member of numerous
29 fraternal and social organizations; and
 
30     WHEREAS, Among the highlights of his legislative career,
31 Senator Demuzio played a major role in securing funding for the
32 creation of the Orr Research Center and the completion of Route

 

 

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1 36 from Jacksonville to Quincy; he received national attention
2 as part of a fight to clean up hazardous waste in Wilsonville
3 and has helped obtain funding for major road improvements along
4 the Route 67 corridor from Alton to Jacksonville; in 1999, he
5 led a coalition from Christian County that convinced the
6 Governor to appropriate funds in the Illinois FIRST program to
7 turn Route 29 from Rochester to Taylorville into a four-lane
8 road; he helped many small communities obtain funding for sewer
9 and water improvements and was especially proud to sponsor
10 legislation renaming the State's income tax check-off for
11 breast and cervical cancer on the State income tax return in
12 honor of the late State Senator Penny Severns; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The passing of Senator Vince Demuzio has been
14 deeply felt by many across Illinois, especially his wife,
15 Deanna (Clemonds); his son, Brad; his daughter, Stephanie Blair
16 and her husband, Patrick; his mother, Catherine; his
17 mother-in-law, Virginia; and his sisters, Marlene, Donna
18 Burke, Cathy Visintin, and Bernadette Hasquin; therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
21 mourn the passing of Senator Vince Demuzio, our colleague, who
22 served the people with honor and distinction and exemplified
23 the highest standards, which won him unequivocal admiration;
24 and be it further
 
25     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
26 presented to the family of Senator Vince Demuzio as an
27 expression of our sincerest condolences during their time of
28 bereavement.