SR0731 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0731 LRB093 23673 CSA 53684 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Described as a visionary, C. Kevin McCabe, age 51 and a resident of Winfield, died Monday, October 11, 2004; and

WHEREAS, As a boy in his hometown in Springfield, he and his friends would watch trains as they rolled through town, and his passion for trains never ended; in his teens, he obtained his pilot's license, which led him to a degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 1975; he worked for McDonnell Aircraft Co. in St. Louis, where he was assigned to the F-4 and F-15 fighter programs and to the development of control systems and simulators for NASA's Space Shuttle; he then became chief aerodynamicist for Vetter Fairing Co. in Rantoul, where he created methods for designing and manufacturing cost-effective wind turbines for electric power generation; and

WHEREAS, In 1978, he followed in his father's footsteps and became an attorney, joining the law firm of Lord, Bissell & Brook in Chicago, in their aviation division, then later in their transportation-related litigation division, which covered both aviation and railroad defense; and

WHEREAS, He lived in Chicago until 1988, when he married his wife, Linda (Bussmann) and they moved to Winfield; and

WHEREAS, Over the last 10 to 15 years, as a senior associate of Lord, Bissell & Brook, he participated in the representation of numerous freight and passenger railroads that operated in the Chicago area, but his passion for the rail system did not end when he left the office; as past president, vice president and a member of the board of directors of the Illinois Railway Museum, he has propelled the museum into a new age as it has tried to preserve artifacts from another; and

WHEREAS, In 1995, he orchestrated the move of a 975,000-pound iron locomotive parked outside Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry since 1961 to the railway museum in Union; in 1996, he was behind the recovery of railroad equipment in the Chicago Tunnel System beneath Lake Shore Drive and the acquisition of the only surviving locomotive once operated by the legendary Casey Jones; and

WHEREAS, An avid reader who would consume two or three books a week, he had a home library with 7,000 books; he has written four text books on computer programming, and his latest book, "Steam Locomotive Fundamentals," a text on steam locomotive history, design and operations, is in the process of being published; and

WHEREAS, The passing of C. Kevin McCabe will be deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Linda and his sister, Sheri Lou Cantrall; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of C. Kevin McCabe along with all who knew and loved him and extend our sincerest condolences to his family and friends; and be it further

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