Full Text of SR2239 100th General Assembly
SR2239 100TH 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 former Illinois State Senator Thomas Lee | 4 | | "Tom" Johnson of West Chicago, who passed away on December 3, | 5 | | 2018; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson was born in Oakland, California to | 7 | | Wallace and Raechel (Oslund) Johnson on April 30, 1945; he | 8 | | spent much of his youth in South Dakota and Illinois; his | 9 | | father was a minister, and his mother was a homemaker; his four | 10 | | grandparents, Elof and Jennie Johnson and August and Hannah | 11 | | Oslund emigrated from Sweden to the United States in the late | 12 | | 19th century; he graduated from Oak Lawn Community High School | 13 | | in 1963; he served in the United States Army, which included a | 14 | | tour of duty in Vietnam, from 1966 until 1968; he then earned a | 15 | | Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of | 16 | | Michigan in 1970 and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University | 17 | | College of Law in 1974; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Following law school, Sen. Johnson joined the | 19 | | DuPage County State's Attorney's Office as Assistant State's | 20 | | Attorney, where he became Chief of the White Collar Crime | 21 | | Division; in 1979, he co-founded a private practice, Johnson & | 22 | | Westra, in Wheaton; he was elected to the Illinois House of | 23 | | Representatives in 1993 and served the 50th District until |
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| 1 | | 2003; while in the House, he chaired the Judiciary Committee | 2 | | and was co-chairman of the Illinois Prison Reform Committee; | 3 | | from 2011 until 2013 he served as the Illinois State Senator | 4 | | for the 48th District; he was an effective legislator, known | 5 | | for consistently and respectfully reaching across the aisle to | 6 | | find common ground; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, After elective office, Sen. Johnson was appointed | 8 | | by the governor to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and | 9 | | served for 14 years; he also served on the boards of the | 10 | | Missionary Furlough Homes Foundation, the Greater Europe | 11 | | Mission, the Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative, the Wheaton | 12 | | Youth Outreach, and the advisory board of Illinois Citizens for | 13 | | Life; in addition to their deep commitment to Wheaton Bible | 14 | | Church, he and Ginger also welcomed refugees from Ukraine, | 15 | | Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina into their home, often for years at | 16 | | a time; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson was widely respected as a man of | 18 | | conviction, integrity, courage, wisdom, fairness, and good | 19 | | humor; in all things, he partnered with the love of his life, | 20 | | Ginger; his family was his greatest pride and joy; he | 21 | | encouraged each one to go out into the world with a spirit of | 22 | | humility, a dedication to service, and a belief that there is | 23 | | virtue in working to solve problems, both large and small; he | 24 | | enjoyed fishing with his sons, tooling around his workshop, and |
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| 1 | | tending to a menagerie of horses, chickens, geese, and goats; | 2 | | on Saturdays, he could often be found golfing with his sons and | 3 | | friends; for the last 11 summers, he and Ginger ran a week-long | 4 | | adventure camp for their grandchildren at their home; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson was preceded in death by his parents | 6 | | and his sister, Elizabeth "Betty" Rae Johnson; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Johnson is survived by his wife and friend of | 8 | | more than 50 years, Virginia "Ginger" Van Der Molen Johnson; | 9 | | his sons and their spouses, Soren and (Ever Horan) Johnson, | 10 | | Derek (Carolyn Hutchinson) Johnson, and Kirk (Marie-Josee | 11 | | Cantin) Johnson; his grandchildren, Ever, Owen, Berend, | 12 | | Virginia, Charlie, Vivian, Anders, August, and Isidora; his | 13 | | brothers, David (Marianne Hess) Johnson and Paul (Pat Joslyn) | 14 | | Johnson; his 19 nieces and nephews; and his 30 great-nieces and | 15 | | great-nephews; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 18 | | former Illinois State Senator Thomas Lee "Tom" Johnson and | 19 | | extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all | 20 | | who knew and loved him; and be it further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 22 | | presented to the family of Sen. Tom Johnson as an expression of |
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| 1 | | our deepest sympathy.
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