HR0734 LRB093 21475 HSS 48448 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois learned with regret of the death of Maurice
4 "Moe" Higgins, of Fairfax, Virginia, formerly of Chicago, on
5 Thursday, February 27, 2004; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Mr. Higgins was born May 3, 1917, in Chicago, one
7 of five children of Irish immigrants Michael and Mary Higgins;
8 he graduated from St. Leo High School and the old St. Viator
9 College in Bourbonnais and joined the police force in 1938; at
10 the same time, he attended Chicago Kent College of Law, earning
11 his law degree in early 1942; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Mr. Higgins married Helen Egan in 1939; they
13 married a few weeks after Pearl Harbor, and in April 1942, he
14 joined the U.S. Navy; he served as a naval intelligence
15 officer, then commanded a landing craft in the South Pacific,
16 serving in such battles as Guadalcanal, Leyte, and Tarawa, and
17 becoming a lieutenant; and
 
18     WHEREAS, In 1946, Mr. Higgins returned to the police force;
19 he was promoted to sergeant in 1952, lieutenant in 1955, and in
20 1956 graduated from the FBI National Police Academy in
21 Washington, D.C.; when the detective bureau was reorganized in
22 1959, he was placed in charge of the robbery, cartage, arson,
23 and bomb detail, becoming a captain in 1960; and
 
24     WHEREAS, Mr. Higgins served as chief investigator for the
25 Cook County state's attorney's office from 1966 to 1969; after
26 his stint in the state's attorney's office, he was a watch
27 commander in the South Chicago and Gresham districts on the
28 South Side and in 1975 became commander of the Morgan Park
29 District until his 1977 retirement; and
 
30     WHEREAS, Mr. Higgins always practiced a little law on the

 

 

HR0734 - 2 - LRB093 21475 HSS 48448 r

1 side; when he retired, with the children gone, he had room to
2 set up an office at home; he often worked for free to help the
3 widows of his old comrades; he and his wife began buying and
4 restoring antiques and traveling to Europe; while researching
5 his family history in County Kerry, he decided to learn the
6 Gaelic he heard his parents speaking when he was young; he also
7 was fluent in Latin; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The passing of Maurice "Moe" Higgins has been
9 deeply felt by many, especially his daughters, Mary Celeste
10 Higgins, Helen Marie (George) Roe, and Patricia (John) Crowley;
11 his sons, Michael Higgins, Bill (Mary Beth) Higgins, and Jack
12 (Missy) Higgins, and his six grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
15 mourn the passing of Maurice "Moe" Higgins, and we offer our
16 sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew
17 and loved him; and be it further
 
18     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19 presented to the family of Mr. Higgins as an expression of our
20 deepest sympathy.