State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_SR0230

 
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 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members  of  this  august  body  are  always
 3    filled  with  mixed feelings as we bid farewell to one of our
 4    fellow members; and

 5        WHEREAS, We are especially sad that the Illinois  General
 6    Assembly's  longest  serving  Democratic  member,  Arthur  L.
 7    Berman,  will  bring  a  premature  end  to his distinguished
 8    legislative career on January 2, 2000; and

 9        WHEREAS, Arthur L. Berman entered the Illinois  House  in
10    1969, and served as State Representative of the 10th and 11th
11    Districts until 1976; and

12        WHEREAS,  Arthur L. Berman has served as State Senator of
13    the  9th  District  since  1977,  representing  the   Chicago
14    communities  of  Edgewater  and  Rogers  Park and portions of
15    Evanston and Skokie; and

16        WHEREAS, Arthur L. Berman has distinguished himself  most
17    notably  as  a  lawmaker  by  becoming  perhaps  the  General
18    Assembly's   foremost   authority   on   matters  related  to
19    education; and

20        WHEREAS, During his 16-year capacity as chairman  of  the
21    Senate  Elementary  and  Secondary  Education  Committee, and
22    later as a  Democratic  spokesman  of  the  Senate  Education
23    Committee,  Arthur  L.  Berman left his personal imprint on a
24    host of landmark education bills; and

25        WHEREAS, These have included his principal sponsorship of
26    the 1985 Illinois Education  Reform  Act,  the  1988  Chicago
27    School Reform legislation, and the 1991 Chicago School Reform
28    Restoration Law; and

29        WHEREAS,  Arthur L. Berman also served as co-chair of the
30    Illinois Task Force on School Finance, a panel  charged  with
 
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 1    revamping the way Illinois funds public education; and

 2        WHEREAS, In 1992, Arthur L. Berman sponsored an amendment
 3    to  the  Illinois Constitution which received 58% of the vote
 4    that would have required the State of  Illinois  to  pay  the
 5    preponderant share of public education funding; and

 6        WHEREAS,  Arthur  L.  Berman achieved a major legislative
 7    victory in 1997 when he successfully led  the  opposition  to
 8    legislation  which  would  have  eliminated Illinois' special
 9    education programs; and

10        WHEREAS, Arthur L. Berman also sponsored  legislation  to
11    end the practice by which governors earmarked lottery revenue
12    for  education  while  reducing education spending from other
13    sources; and

14        WHEREAS, In 1997 Arthur L. Berman helped pass legislation
15    making education funding a continuing  appropriation  in  the
16    State budget through the year 2001; and

17        WHEREAS,  Arthur L. Berman's other noteworthy legislative
18    achievements include sponsorship of HMO  reform  legislation,
19    legislation  doubling  the  personal income tax exemption and
20    fighting for increased salaries for Illinois judges; and

21        WHEREAS,  Senator   Berman's   tireless   commitment   to
22    education,  and  his  leadership  on  other important issues,
23    earned him the distinction of being named one of Illinois' 10
24    Best Lawmakers by both the Chicago Tribune  and  the  Chicago
25    Sun-Times; and

26        WHEREAS,  Senator Berman has also served with distinction
27    as a member of the Senate Committees  on  Revenue,  Insurance
28    and  Pensions,  Appropriations, Judiciary, Finance and Credit
29    Regulations, Transportation, and Public Health, Welfare,  and
30    Corrections; and
 
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 1        WHEREAS,  Senator  Berman  is a member of the 48th, 49th,
 2    and  50th  Ward  Democratic  Organizations  in  the  City  of
 3    Chicago, and has served as an Executive Board Member  of  the
 4    Democratic Party of Evanston since 1973; and

 5        WHEREAS,  Senator  Berman  is  the  recipient  of several
 6    Honorary Doctorate degrees and  numerous  other  awards  from
 7    civic and professional organizations; and

 8        WHEREAS,  Senator  Berman  is also immensely proud of his
 9    heritage, annually taking  a  leading  role  in  the  General
10    Assembly's  Holocaust  remembrance  ceremony,  and serving as
11    past  president  of  the  National  Association   of   Jewish
12    Legislators; and

13        WHEREAS,  Senator  Berman  has  also  been  a  practicing
14    attorney  for  more  than four decades; he is a member of the
15    Chicago law firm of Karlin and Fleischer, and  prior  to  his
16    legislative  career  served  the  citizens  of  Illinois as a
17    Special Assistant Attorney General; and

18        WHEREAS, Arthur L. Berman received his  law  degree  from
19    Northwestern University School of Law, where he served on the
20    Law  Review,  and  was  chairman  of  the  Student  Board  of
21    Governors;  he  received  his  undergraduate  degree from the
22    University of Illinois at Urbana; and

23        WHEREAS, Arthur L. Berman is the proud father of Adam and
24    Marcy, and the loving spouse of Barbara G. Berman; and

25        WHEREAS, Arthur L. Berman now takes leave of us  to  once
26    again   become   a   regular   citizen   who   dotes  on  his
27    grandchildren, though he shall no doubt spend  endless  hours
28    commiserating  and  reminiscing  with  his pals in the Jewish
29    Caucus, Howie  Carroll  and  Billy  Marovitz,  while  working
30    endlessly to perfect his tennis swing; therefore, be it

31        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
 
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 1    ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that  we  are  proud  and
 2    honored  to  congratulate Arthur L. Berman on the occasion of
 3    his retirement from the Illinois Senate, and we thank him for
 4    more than three decades of exemplary public  service  to  the
 5    citizens of the State of Illinois; and be it further

 6        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of  this preamble and
 7    resolution be presented to Arthur L. Berman, along  with  our
 8    very  best  wishes  for  a  future  filled  with good health,
 9    happiness, and prosperity.

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