Full Text of SR1386 102nd General Assembly
SR1386 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate of the 102nd | 3 | | General Assembly of the State of Illinois learned with great | 4 | | sadness of the death of their colleague and friend, Senator | 5 | | Scott Michael Bennett, on December 9, 2022; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett was born on July 16, 1977 to Dr. | 7 | | Robert and Barbara Bennett in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where | 8 | | his father was stationed in the U.S. Army; when he was an | 9 | | infant, the family moved to Gibson City, where five | 10 | | generations of his family have worked on their family farm, | 11 | | which is something he cherished; he graduated from Gibson | 12 | | City-Melvin-Sibley High School in 1995 and then studied | 13 | | History at Illinois State University, graduating in 1998; he | 14 | | then attended law school at the University of Illinois | 15 | | Urbana-Champaign, graduating in 2002; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett joined the Senate in 2015 as the | 17 | | unanimous choice to fill the vacancy created when Michael W. | 18 | | Frerichs was sworn in as the Illinois State Treasurer after | 19 | | serving the 52nd District for eight years; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett dedicated his life to public service | 21 | | and giving back to his community; he first earned an | 22 | | internship at the White House, where he served the Clinton |
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| 1 | | Administration in the Office of Presidential Gifts and met his | 2 | | wife, Stacy Meredith, who had been assigned to the same | 3 | | office; they entertained one another with imagined back | 4 | | stories of curious global and domestic gifts; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett started his career as a prosecutor | 6 | | for the City of Chicago and also worked for the Democratic | 7 | | National Committee in Washington, D.C.; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Though Sen. Bennett could have pursued a | 9 | | high-paying career in corporate law, he longed to return to | 10 | | his roots and the community he treasured; he returned to | 11 | | central Illinois to work as an assistant state's attorney in | 12 | | Bloomington-Normal and then in Champaign-Urbana; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The first piece of legislation Sen. Bennett filed | 14 | | was to protect central Illinois' water supply by preserving | 15 | | the quality of drinking water in the Mahomet Aquifer, which | 16 | | serves as the primary water supply for 15 counties across | 17 | | central Illinois, including Champaign and Vermilion counties; | 18 | | he believed that the aquifer served as a lifeline for the | 19 | | region and made it his mission to protect this important | 20 | | resource for the sake of the region's children and future | 21 | | generations to come; he continuously worked with a bipartisan | 22 | | coalition of legislators to add safeguards to protect this | 23 | | valuable resource; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett leaned on his experience in the | 2 | | courtroom to champion legislation to permit courts to allow | 3 | | comfort canines in courtrooms to assist children or people | 4 | | with intellectual disabilities who have to testify in court on | 5 | | sexual assault cases; he believed that the use of dogs in the | 6 | | courtroom can help bring a major change in how we can meet the | 7 | | emotional needs of those involved in the criminal justice | 8 | | system; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett partnered with Treasurer Frerichs to | 10 | | establish the Illinois Achieving Better Life Expectancy Act, | 11 | | known as the ABLE Act, to promote financial security for | 12 | | children and loved ones living with disabilities; the goal of | 13 | | the program is to assist individuals and families in saving | 14 | | money to cover expenses for people with disabilities; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, During the budget impasse in 2015, Sen. Bennett | 16 | | and his family filed paperwork to forgo his pay until there was | 17 | | a budget in place to protect essential programs in Illinois; | 18 | | the Bennett family stood in solidarity with the hard working | 19 | | men and women in their community who provided essential | 20 | | services to our most vulnerable populations, and they believed | 21 | | it was unjust for elected officials to continue to take home | 22 | | their pay while in-home child care providers struggled to keep | 23 | | their doors open and seniors were forced to choose between |
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| 1 | | picking up their prescriptions or keeping their lights on at | 2 | | night; he did not accept a paycheck for more than six months; | 3 | | and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett fought to provide Illinois' students | 5 | | with the opportunity to be successful as the chair of the | 6 | | Senate's Higher Education Committee for the last two years; he | 7 | | worked to secure resources for the University of Illinois | 8 | | Urbana-Champaign, Parkland College, Danville Community | 9 | | College, and all of the State's higher education facilities by | 10 | | advocating for additional funding for need-based tuition | 11 | | assistance, lowering tuition costs and fees, and preventing | 12 | | licensing boards from denying and revoking or suspending | 13 | | individual professional licenses due to student loan default | 14 | | in Illinois; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett introduced the Know Before You Owe | 16 | | Private Education Loan Act, which requires private lenders to | 17 | | confirm with a potential borrower's school that the student's | 18 | | tuition, housing, and other costs are not covered by other | 19 | | sources of financial aid to ensure students and their families | 20 | | have clear information when weighing their loan options; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked to combat campus sexual | 22 | | violence and championed the Preventing Sexual Violence on | 23 | | Campus Act, which provided a road map to existing federal |
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| 1 | | requirements and set standards to prevent and respond to | 2 | | sexual violence; his goal was to end campus assault, but if an | 3 | | assault occurred, he wanted to ensure that there were clear | 4 | | and concise guidelines to give survivors of sexual assault a | 5 | | comprehensive path to report crimes and be notified of their | 6 | | rights; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked to increase civic | 8 | | participation and engage more citizens in the democratic | 9 | | process by supporting automatic voter registration and routine | 10 | | voter registration drives; he also worked to encourage more | 11 | | young people to be involved in government through mentorship | 12 | | and internship opportunities for college and high school | 13 | | students, through regular visits to local schools to educate | 14 | | students on different methods to voice their concerns and | 15 | | provide input on the vital matters that impact our | 16 | | communities, and by always being willing to have candid | 17 | | conversations with college clubs and groups or young people | 18 | | who contacted his office; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett's love for his family farm shined | 20 | | through the active role he played as the chair of the | 21 | | Agriculture Committee for two years; he even sought a | 22 | | commercial driver's license so he could haul grain in a | 23 | | semi-truck to the area grain elevator from his family's | 24 | | centennial farm during harvest; he could be found returning |
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| 1 | | calls, participating in weekly team meeting calls, negotiating | 2 | | legislation, and much more in the name of service to the | 3 | | constituents of the 52nd District while waiting for the truck | 4 | | to be loaded; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett recognized the stressors placed on | 6 | | farmers and farm families and partnered with SIU School of | 7 | | Medicine's Center for Rural Health and Social Services | 8 | | Development and the Illinois Department of Agriculture to | 9 | | introduce a hotline to connect farmers to health professionals | 10 | | and services for additional support through the Farm Family | 11 | | Resource Initiative; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett partnered with former Illinois | 13 | | Department of Agriculture Director John Sullivan to address | 14 | | the issue of farm chemical runoff polluting Illinois waterways | 15 | | because he believed the State needed to make significant water | 16 | | quality improvement to protect our quality of life for | 17 | | generations to come; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, To help alleviate the shortage of agriculture | 19 | | science educators, Sen. Bennett championed an initiative to | 20 | | create a hands-on agriculture teacher training program in | 21 | | Illinois high schools for those interested in studying to | 22 | | teach agriculture; he believed that creating a pre-service | 23 | | teacher training program to give prospective agriculture |
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| 1 | | students the fundamentals they need to succeed will help to | 2 | | ensure that the next generation of family farmers will keep | 3 | | the industry strong for years to come; he later received the | 4 | | Jim Guilinger Legislative Award from the Illinois Leadership | 5 | | Council for Agricultural Education for his support of | 6 | | agricultural education and Future Farmers of America student | 7 | | programs; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett's experience in the courtroom gave | 9 | | the Senate a unique and cherished perspective that he utilized | 10 | | as the chair of the Criminal Law Committee for two years; he | 11 | | emphasized the importance he placed on providing minors who | 12 | | experienced the most egregious crimes against them with the | 13 | | tools to seek justice when they are ready by removing the | 14 | | statute of limitations for certain sex crimes against minors; | 15 | | he believed that survivors of these horrific crimes should not | 16 | | be forced to seek justice before they are ready to do so; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked with State agencies and local | 18 | | leaders to acquire a Child's Advocacy Center in Vermilion | 19 | | County to provide minors with a comforting, kid-friendly | 20 | | environment; prior to that, Vermilion County had been one of | 21 | | only four counties in the State that did not have one; he | 22 | | valued the opportunity to serve as the vice-president of the | 23 | | board of directors for the facility; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett believed in the spirit of | 2 | | bipartisanship and worked on legislation with his uncle, State | 3 | | Representative Tom Bennett, to ensure that materials on SIDS | 4 | | prevention provided to parents include information from the | 5 | | American Academy of Pediatrics or a statewide or nationally | 6 | | recognized SIDS or medical association; he made it his goal to | 7 | | find at least one piece of legislation that he could work on | 8 | | with Rep. Bennett every General Assembly; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett never forgot the importance of our | 10 | | nation's veterans and worked with now retired State | 11 | | Representative Chad Hays to rededicate a lost grave marker | 12 | | that was discovered to belong to Clyde E. Maham, a World War I | 13 | | veteran who was buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Rantoul; he | 14 | | believed that whether a veteran's sacrifices were made during | 15 | | World War I or are currently being made across the globe, it is | 16 | | important to honor the dedication and sacrifices the veterans | 17 | | have made to our great nation; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, To support women in Illinois, Sen. Bennett voted | 19 | | to institute a federal constitutional provision that expressly | 20 | | guarantees equal rights to women and men by championing Senate | 21 | | Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 4, which would have | 22 | | ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the United States | 23 | | Constitution; he believed ratifying the ERA is not merely | 24 | | symbolic or only a woman's issue and that it is a necessary |
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| 1 | | measure for Illinois to take to guarantee equality under the | 2 | | law for both men and women; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett believed in protecting women's | 4 | | reproductive health care and bodily autonomy since these are | 5 | | the most basic and fundamental human rights; he supported a | 6 | | number of measures to ensure Illinois has laws on the books to | 7 | | protect the health and well-being of women in Illinois; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked diligently to prevent | 9 | | groundwater contaminated at Illinois coal ash dump sites by | 10 | | championing a bipartisan initiative with area legislators; he | 11 | | believed that Illinois cannot afford to stand by while toxic | 12 | | waste threatens our State's valuable water resources | 13 | | indefinitely; during the passage of the legislation, he coined | 14 | | the term Team Coal Ash to commemorate the friendships formed | 15 | | during the tough negotiations and distributed coal stress | 16 | | balls to the team after the bill's passage; he later received | 17 | | the Illinois Environmental Councils' Milestone Achievement | 18 | | Award and the Prairie Rivers Network's Outstanding Public | 19 | | Servant Award for his efforts in passing historic coal ash | 20 | | regulations into law that year; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked with his colleagues to | 22 | | provide Illinois workers with a living wage; he believed that | 23 | | employees deserve a fair wage that respects the work they do in |
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| 1 | | the service to our community and that Illinois' hardest | 2 | | workers should be compensated with a wage that allows them to | 3 | | live their lives with dignity, fairness, and stability; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, After years of work, Sen. Bennett was able to | 5 | | secure a Danville casino to help spur growth in the region and | 6 | | create good-paying jobs for Vermilion County residents; he was | 7 | | looking forward to the ribbon cutting of the casino and | 8 | | witnessing the economic impact it would have on Danville; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, During the unfortunate COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. | 10 | | Bennett worked to keep constituents safe by educating people | 11 | | on the dangers of exposure, supporting and providing | 12 | | information about local food pantries and State resources | 13 | | available to assist, reading evening bedtime stories as a | 14 | | celebrity reader, assisting constituents in securing | 15 | | unemployment benefits, distributing personal protective | 16 | | equipment to first responders, supporting local business | 17 | | owners, and encouraging residents to wear masks and get | 18 | | vaccinated once they were made available; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, To improve transparency around prescription drug | 20 | | costs, Sen. Bennett pushed a bill requiring pharmacies to post | 21 | | a notice informing consumers that they may request current | 22 | | pharmacy retail prices at the point of sale to ensure that the | 23 | | drug industry is held accountable and that residents receive |
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| 1 | | the pricing information they deserve to make informed | 2 | | decisions; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked diligently to support | 4 | | downstate schools across central Illinois by ensuring that | 5 | | there was a bipartisan funding formula in place that supported | 6 | | all of our State's children; he helped institute a funding | 7 | | formula that guarantees that the quality of a child's | 8 | | education will not be based on their ZIP code and funds schools | 9 | | the right way to help lower property tax bills; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, To raise awareness and help improve mental health | 11 | | among young adults and middle school students, Sen. Bennett | 12 | | sponsored legislation that requires school districts to | 13 | | provide contact information for the National Suicide | 14 | | Prevention Lifeline and the Crisis Text Line on student | 15 | | identification cards to ensure this resource is available to | 16 | | help students who may be struggling; he believed printing this | 17 | | information on student ID cards meant the hotline number is | 18 | | always close at hand and, more importantly, can be used as a | 19 | | lifeline for children and their families; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett worked with law enforcement and his | 21 | | colleagues in the House and Senate to pass legislation to | 22 | | improve the criminal justice system by passing a package of | 23 | | bills that were aimed at keeping law enforcement officials |
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| 1 | | safe by creating grant opportunities and instituting ways to | 2 | | recruit, hire, and retain the best of our law enforcement | 3 | | officers to keep communities safe; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Most recently, Sen. Bennett served as a central | 5 | | figure in recent SAFE-T Act changes; he understood the | 6 | | importance of presuming innocence for individuals before being | 7 | | proven guilty, supporting police, and keeping violent | 8 | | criminals out of our neighborhoods; his goal remained to | 9 | | ensure that the Illinois' pretrial system is equitable and | 10 | | that everyone is treated equally regardless of their financial | 11 | | status; he believed it was pertinent to bring together a | 12 | | diverse group of individuals to create a comprehensive plan | 13 | | that maintains the intent of the Pretrial Fairness Act while | 14 | | ensuring our court systems have the tools they need to serve | 15 | | their communities; he was proud of the efforts to improve the | 16 | | consistency within the law; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, During his time in office, Sen. Bennett | 18 | | appreciated the honor of participating in the annual Wreaths | 19 | | Across America ceremony at Danville National Cemetery because | 20 | | he believed in the importance of the community coming together | 21 | | to celebrate the lives of our fallen soldiers; at this year's | 22 | | ceremony and going forward, the organization pledged to lay a | 23 | | wreath to memorialize him, and he is the only non-veteran to | 24 | | receive this great honor; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett secured over $25.9 million for | 2 | | cities and municipalities in his district to upgrade community | 3 | | parks, restore historical landmarks, improve local roads, and | 4 | | create accessibility to buildings; he consistently advocated | 5 | | for all of his district, including securing over 60 projects | 6 | | for schools, foundations, cities, not-for-profits, parks, | 7 | | libraries, and many others; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, | 9 | | the State's flagship university, is located in what was Sen. | 10 | | Bennett's district; while in office, he secured more than $50 | 11 | | million in additional spending for the University of Illinois, | 12 | | including an additional $500 million for the Discovery | 13 | | Partners Institute, which is an economic incubator for the | 14 | | State; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett served on a number of boards and | 16 | | task forces, including the Mahomet Aquifer Task Force, the | 17 | | Illinois Supreme Court's Pretrial Practices Commission, | 18 | | Governor JB Pritzker's Growing Our Agricultural Economy | 19 | | Committee, the Access to Voting for Persons with Disabilities | 20 | | Advisory Task Force, the Commission on Equitable Public | 21 | | University Funding, the Midwestern Higher Education | 22 | | Commission, and the State Procurement Task Force; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett hosted a number of annual collection | 2 | | drives to benefit the Vermilion County community; one such | 3 | | event was his community dictionary drive to benefit Danville | 4 | | Area Community College's Department of Corrections program, | 5 | | which rehabilitates incarcerated men participating in | 6 | | prison-based education programs; he also hosted warm sock | 7 | | drives to boost supplies at local shelters during the cold | 8 | | winter months; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett was always ready to help and support | 10 | | community organizations and address shortages and constituent | 11 | | needs; he hosted blood drives and collected canned foods to | 12 | | help food pantries, cell phones to help survivors of domestic | 13 | | violence and to help military personnel, cards for seniors and | 14 | | veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic, winter hygiene product | 15 | | drives for local soup kitchens, and donations for Ukrainian | 16 | | families in Westville, among other needs; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett loved when school groups, interns, | 18 | | or constituents would stop by his office in Springfield; he | 19 | | cherished the opportunity to provide visitors with an in-depth | 20 | | tour of the State Capitol, whose deep history he loved; those | 21 | | fortunate enough to receive this tour would often learn new | 22 | | historical facts and tidbits and hear his latest stories; and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, As a former staff member himself, Sen. Bennett |
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| 1 | | was often found at the back of the Senate chamber taking the | 2 | | time to get to know staff members and sharing funny anecdotes; | 3 | | he always valued the time and energy staff put into their work | 4 | | and treated his staff as family; he would make a special effort | 5 | | to look for ways to show his appreciation; he was beloved by | 6 | | staff and will be greatly missed by them; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett hosted summer book club programs for | 8 | | children in the community, had a steady rotation of college | 9 | | and high school interns, and regularly visited area schools | 10 | | and college classes to engage more students in the State's | 11 | | legislative process because he genuinely believed that the | 12 | | State's children could become great leaders in our State and | 13 | | nation; he adored hearing from or about former interns and | 14 | | staff members who achieved their career and education goals; | 15 | | and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, During his tenure as a legislator, Sen. Bennett | 17 | | partnered with area organizations to sponsor expungement and | 18 | | record-sealing summits to provide full-service assistance to | 19 | | Champaign residents with application, preparation, and filing | 20 | | for adult and juvenile criminal record expungement and sealing | 21 | | along with other relief because he wanted to give people the | 22 | | opportunity to be successful; and
| 23 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett was a fierce advocate and was well |
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| 1 | | known by all for his humor and wit, which was an innate talent | 2 | | he used as a tool to heal and unite by putting his audience at | 3 | | ease and creating space for connection; he treasured | 4 | | relationships, from his constituents and colleagues to his | 5 | | family and friends, and all knew that no matter the | 6 | | relationship he genuinely cared; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett's absence has left a big Scott | 8 | | Bennett-sized hole in our hearts forever; we can honor him by | 9 | | taking the time to find common ground, being kind to our | 10 | | neighbors, and doing our best to leave the world a brighter and | 11 | | more compassionate place; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Bennett prioritized service above self and | 13 | | deeply cared for the 52nd State Senate District; however, his | 14 | | greatest love was for his family, his wife of 20 years, Stacy, | 15 | | and his children, Sam and Emma, who served as his rock and | 16 | | heart in every action he took; he would often forgo staying in | 17 | | Springfield after long session days to go home and be near his | 18 | | family; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Stacy Bennett, who honored Sen. Bennett's | 20 | | legacy by completing the remainder of his term in the 102nd | 21 | | General Assembly, served as his sounding board, his political | 22 | | strategist, and the love of his life; she helped him stay | 23 | | grounded and provided him with support to help him better |
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| 1 | | represent the diverse needs of the residents of the 52nd | 2 | | District; therefore, be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 4 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 5 | | Senator Scott Bennett, our friend and colleague, who served | 6 | | the people of the State of Illinois with honor and distinction | 7 | | and exemplified the highest standards; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to the family of Sen. Bennett as an expression of our | 10 | | sincerest condolences for the loss of their loved one and our | 11 | | friend.
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