SR2152 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR2152 LRB100 24161 ALS 43317 r

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 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 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

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.