Full Text of SR0207 97th General Assembly
SR0207 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of
Robert Kirchner of Urbana, who passed | 4 | | away on April 17, 2011; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner was born on June 23, 1956, in | 6 | | Joliet; his parents were Robert and Margaret (Keyser) Kirchner; | 7 | | he grew up in New Lenox; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner attended Western Illinois | 9 | | University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy | 10 | | and political science in 1976 and his master's degree in | 11 | | political science in 1977; while attending WIU, he met his | 12 | | future wife, Gerri; they married on August 25, 1979, in Park | 13 | | Ridge; Bob and Gerri began their marriage in Urbana, where he | 14 | | attended the University of Illinois College of Law, and earned | 15 | | his law degree in 1982; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, After earning his law degree, Robert Kirchner | 17 | | joined the Champaign law practice of Burt Greaves and Art | 18 | | Lerner, which became Greaves, Lerner and Kirchner, and later, | 19 | | Lerner and Kirchner; in 2002, he opened his own law office in | 20 | | Champaign and was later joined by attorney Ruth Wyman; as a | 21 | | highly skilled trial lawyer, he was an intelligent advocate for | 22 | | his clients and was known for his dedication to the law; he was |
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| 1 | | diligent in his research and his knowledge of the law was the | 2 | | foundation of his legal abilities; during his career, he argued | 3 | | many cases before the appellate courts and the Illinois Supreme | 4 | | Court, winning several cases that established legal | 5 | | precedents; he was well known among his peers as a champion of | 6 | | numerous legal causes that other attorneys would not take on; | 7 | | and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner's interest in the law prompted him | 9 | | to run as a Democratic candidate for Illinois State | 10 | | Representative in 1996; despite losing the election, his | 11 | | campaign engaged public participation by hosting a series of | 12 | | monthly symposiums on key issues impacting state legislation, | 13 | | including education funding, crime, drug abuse and gun control, | 14 | | child welfare, women's rights, health care, employment laws, | 15 | | and campaign finance reform; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner served on the Champaign County | 17 | | Board as the District 9 representative, appointed in 2001 and | 18 | | elected in 2002 to a 2-year term; as a member of the board's | 19 | | Democratic majority, he voted to pass laws to guarantee a | 20 | | living wage for all full-time county employees, prohibit | 21 | | employment discrimination on the basis of race, gender, or | 22 | | sexual orientation, and establish free dental care for | 23 | | low-income children; he served as chair of the county nursing | 24 | | home sub-committee and worked on the successful passage of the |
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| 1 | | referendum proposal to fund its construction; he ran for | 2 | | election to the county board again in 2006, in which he lost a | 3 | | closely contested Democratic primary; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner served as Vice President of the | 5 | | Champaign County Bar Association from 1994 to 1995; in 1994, he | 6 | | helped establish Best Interest of Children, a local non-profit | 7 | | organization dedicated to child and family advocacy, and served | 8 | | on the organization's board; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Robert Kirchner is survived by his wife of 32 | 10 | | years, Gerri; his sisters, Marlene (Dennis) Gallagher and | 11 | | Lorrie (Robert) Chaplin; his brothers, John (Carol) Burkhart, | 12 | | Ron (Laura) Kirchner, and David Kirchner; his brother-in-law, | 13 | | Paul (Sue) Geissler; his sister-in-law, Shelly (Paul) Kotecki; | 14 | | his 4 nephews; and his 7 nieces; therefore, be it
| 15 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 16 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 17 | | his family and friends, the passing of Robert Kirchner; and be | 18 | | it further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 | | presented to the family of Robert Kirchner as an expression of | 21 | | our sympathy.
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