Full Text of SR0093 99th General Assembly
SR0093 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate were saddened | 3 | | to learn of the unexpected death of our
friend and former | 4 | | colleague, Judy Baar Topinka, who passed away on December 10, | 5 | | 2014; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka was born to immigrant parents | 7 | | Lillian Mary Shuss and William D. Baar on
January 16, 1944 in | 8 | | Riverside; after attending public schools throughout the Cold | 9 | | War and the
Golden Age of Capitalism, she graduated from | 10 | | Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in
1966, | 11 | | where she was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka dedicated herself to a lifetime | 13 | | of service to the people of the State of
Illinois; after | 14 | | graduating from Northwestern University, she began a career in | 15 | | journalism as a part-time reporter for
the Berwyn, Cicero, and | 16 | | Stickney-Forest View Life Newspapers, before being hired | 17 | | full-time in 1971; in
her award-winning journalism career, she | 18 | | was a reporter, education editor, feature writer, feature
| 19 | | editor, and photographer; she received honors from the Illinois | 20 | | Women's Press Association, the Illinois Press
Association, and | 21 | | the Illinois State Medical Society for her work covering | 22 | | advances in the medical field; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka's time covering politics and | 2 | | local issues as a journalist is what ultimately
motivated her | 3 | | move into politics; in 1980, she was elected to serve in the | 4 | | Illinois House of
Representatives; she served 2 successful | 5 | | terms before being elected to the Senate in 1984, where she
| 6 | | served for 10 years until 1995; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka brought her larger-than-life | 8 | | personality to the Senate and quickly became known as a hard | 9 | | worker and one of the most outspoken members of the body; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, During Judy Baar Topinka's tenure, she was a | 11 | | resolute advocate for the health and welfare of
the general | 12 | | public, passing a diverse array of legislation ranging from | 13 | | requiring employees at a physical
fitness center to be | 14 | | certified in CPR to defining ethical standards for physicians | 15 | | to better protect citizens
from medical malpractice; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka was an ardent defender of | 17 | | numerous human rights issues, including the
Equal Rights | 18 | | Amendment, gender and marriage equality, and abortion rights; | 19 | | and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka engineered successful efforts | 21 | | in health care delivery and medical ethics and soon became
one | 22 | | of the State's most respected legislators in the field; her |
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| 1 | | knowledge and ability led her colleagues to
name her as | 2 | | chairperson of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee in 1992; | 3 | | and | 4 | | WHEREAS, In 1994, Judy Baar Topinka achieved the | 5 | | distinction of being the first woman elected to serve
as State | 6 | | Treasurer, becoming only the second woman in Illinois history | 7 | | to hold a State constitutional
executive office; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, During Judy Baar Topinka's 3 terms as State | 9 | | Treasurer, her frugal nature was evident through her strong
| 10 | | advocacy for financial prudence; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka knew that good fiscal habits and | 12 | | skills are developed at a young age, which
is why she created | 13 | | Illinois' Bank at School, a program to teach schoolchildren the | 14 | | value of saving money; the State earned record amounts of | 15 | | income on investments during her tenure as Treasurer; she also
| 16 | | helped thousands of families save for college by creating one | 17 | | of the most affordable college savings
programs in the nation; | 18 | | and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka's office helped create and | 20 | | retain more than 13,000 new jobs through an
innovative linked | 21 | | deposits program, and developed the nation's largest | 22 | | agriculture loan program for
farmers; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In 2006, Judy Baar Topinka ran for Governor of | 2 | | Illinois, becoming only the second woman to win a major
party's | 3 | | nomination for Governor in the State; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, In 2010, Judy Baar Topinka was elected to serve as | 5 | | the Illinois State Comptroller, making her the first
woman to | 6 | | serve in 2 State constitutional offices in Illinois; she served | 7 | | as the State's chief financial
officer with integrity and | 8 | | dedication, continuing her advocacy for fiscal responsibility | 9 | | and greater
accountability during a time of severe financial | 10 | | constraints in the State; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka is survived by her son, Joseph; | 12 | | her daughter-in-law, Christina; and
her granddaughter, | 13 | | Alexandra; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Judy Baar Topinka was a trailblazer; her legacy of | 15 | | dedication to community, honest
governance, and great dignity | 16 | | will be dearly missed by the members of this body, the people | 17 | | of the State
of Illinois, and her friends and admirers | 18 | | throughout the nation; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 20 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 21 | | her family and friends, the passing of our friend and |
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| 1 | | colleague, Judy Baar Topinka; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 3 | | presented to the family of Judy Baar Topinka as an
expression | 4 | | of our sympathy and our great respect for Judy Baar Topinka's | 5 | | life and legacy.
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