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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Franklin McMahon, who passed away on
4March 3, 2012; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Franklin McMahon was born on the west side of
6Chicago in 1921; he grew up in Oak Park and Los Angeles before
7returning to Chicago, where he attended high school; in 1939,
8he graduated from Fenwick High School, where his professional
9artistic career started when one of his drawings for his high
10school publication was published in Collier's Magazine; he is
11also a member of the Fenwick High School Hall of Fame; and
 
12    WHEREAS, After graduating from high school, Franklin
13McMahon enlisted in the United States Army Air Force, where he
14served as a B-17 navigator conducting missions over Germany
15during World War II; during the war, his plane was shot down
16and he spent months as a German prisoner of war; during his
17time in the POW camp, he made drawings of his Nazi captors,
18which were later published; after the war, he returned to
19Chicago, where he married his high school sweetheart, the late
20travel reporter Irene Leahy McMahon; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Franklin McMahon was an
22internationally-recognized artist reporter; he made drawings

 

 

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1and paintings for numerous publications, including the Chicago
2Tribune, the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun Times, Chicago
3Magazine, the New York Times, Life and Look Magazines, and
4Sports Illustrated; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Franklin McMahon's artistic works captured the
6major historical events of the post-World War II era; he
7created works for such iconic events as the trial of Emmett
8Till, the political campaigns and conventions from 1960 through
92004, the Vatican II Council, the 1965 March on Selma, the
10Conspiracy Trial of The Chicago 8, the first walk on the moon,
11as drawn from Mission Control, and the Watergate hearings; he
12created all of his drawings "on scene" because he believed that
13an artist reporter could "see around the corners" to capture
14the essence of the emotion of the subjects of his work; his
15work is in a variety of public collections, including the
16Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the
17Chicago History Museum; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Franklin McMahon was the recipient of numerous
19awards and accolades, including the Renaissance Prize of the
20Art Institute of Chicago; in 1963, he was named "Artist of the
21Year" by the New York Artists Guild; in 2000, he received the
22Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Civil Rights from the
23Minority Economic Resources Board; he was the recipient of
24three Emmy Awards and one Peabody award for films incorporating

 

 

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1his artwork that were broadcast on WTTW and a number of other
2Chicago television stations; he received honorary degrees from
3Loyola University of Chicago and Lake Forest College; he was
4also a member of the Guiding Faculty of the Famous Artists
5School in Wilton, Connecticut; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Franklin McMahon was preceded in death by his
7wife; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Franklin McMahon is survived by his children, Wm.
9Franklin McMahon, Mark McMahon, Mary I McMahon Taplin, Deborah
10McMahon Osterholtz, Patrick McMahon, Hugh McMahon, Margot
11McMahon, Michelle McMahon-Kubota, and Michael McMahon; his 13
12grandchildren; and his 5 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
14ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
15his family and friends, the passing of Franklin McMahon; and be
16it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18presented to the family of Franklin McMahon as an expression of
19our sympathy.