HR0087 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0087 LRB094 07593 CSA 37765 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Steve Neal was one of a kind; and

WHEREAS, Seldom in the State's collective institutional memory did a person transplant himself and his family to the Illinois political and governmental scene and take on the cloak of a lifelong resident with the deepest of roots; and

WHEREAS, Infrequently in this modern, electronic era of 24-hour news cycles, never-ending tracking polls, e-mail, and instant messages, did a person make fascinating reading out the personal, hand-written, stamped correspondence of former presidents, first ladies, and generals; and

WHEREAS, Seldom in an age of synergy, downloads, CD burns, did a person influence so many city, state and national governmental and political decisions from behind a mountain of history books with a backdrop of posters dating back to bygone times; and

WHEREAS, Rarely did a person understand the power of the pen and the swath it would leave across the body politic when used as a rapier, broad blade, and scalpel, all in the same one-sided duel; and

WHEREAS, This resolution could also recount the reverence held for Elvis, The Duke Wayne, Ike, and Harry, but those legends and countless others might now be on call to be "grab a bite" in another place with our chronicler and friend, Steve Neal; and

WHEREAS, Steve Neal's accomplishments have been detailed by some of our most gifted writers in recent days so those achievements need not be redundantly recounted here; and

WHEREAS, Beyond his written words that appeared in the Chicago Sun Times, the Chicago Tribune, the hundreds of pages of books or those verbal musings broadcast across the state, Steve Neal will be remembered, cherished, and missed as a person who could bring divergent, sometimes combative, personas together to find common ground or, more often, set aside those differences while making time to celebrate the magic of our humanity; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we express our deepest sympathies on the passing of Steve Neal to the family, friends, and colleagues of Steve Neal and, further, our appreciation for the contribution Steve Neal made to the betterment of the quality of life for the people of the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to his family as an expression of our deepest sympathy.