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92_SR0222
LRB9210808RHrhA
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
3 express their sincere condolences to the family and friends
4 of Gary J. Maher, who passed away on June 10, 2001; and
5 WHEREAS, Mr. Maher was the polished voice of Illinois'
6 cable-TV industry for the past 15 years and a lobbyist whose
7 efforts helped protect cable companies as they faced
8 competition from the telephone industry; and
9 WHEREAS, Mr. Maher was the son of a United States
10 serviceman and was born in Nagano, Japan; he developed an
11 interest in public policy while growing up in Manchester,
12 Connecticut; he graduated from Syracuse University in 1977
13 with a bachelor's degree in political science and received a
14 master's degree in public affairs two years later; and
15 WHEREAS, Shortly after joining the Bureau of the Budget
16 in the Illinois Governor's Office in 1980, Mr. Maher was
17 recruited by the Illinois Commerce Commission; in 1985 he
18 became the founding president of the Cable Association, where
19 one of his early efforts included a reduction in the cost for
20 companies to attach cable lines to existing utility poles; he
21 almost singlehandedly created a powerful voice for the
22 nascent cable industry among State legislators in the
23 mid-1980s and then wielded it to thwart telecommunications
24 giants trying to break into Illinois cable markets a decade
25 later; and
26 WHEREAS, In addition, Mr. Maher led successful efforts
27 that let State cable companies install service for apartment
28 tenants without first consulting landlords; and
29 WHEREAS, Mr. Maher left the Cable Association in January
30 2001 to become vice president of external affairs for spirits
31 distribution for Guinness UDV North America; and
-2- LRB9210808RHrhA
1 WHEREAS, Mr. Maher directed the successful campaign to
2 elect Benjamin K. Miller to the State Supreme Court and
3 served on the transition team for Governor George Ryan; and
4 WHEREAS, The passing of Gary J. Maher will be deeply felt
5 by all who knew and loved him, especially his wife,
6 Francesca; his sons Jack and Brendan; his father, Edward
7 Maher; his brothers, Brian (wife, Dianne) Maher and Jeff
8 Maher; his nieces and nephews, Kyle, Jeffrey, and Kelly
9 Maher, Meagan, Catherine, and Elizabeth Brown, and Stephen,
10 Claire, and Michael Pulszis; his father-in-law, Edward
11 Marciniak; his sisters-in-law, Catherine Marciniak, Christina
12 Marciniak (husband, Michael Brown), and Claudia Marciniak
13 (husband, Steven Pulszis); therefore, be it
14 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
15 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
16 all who knew him, the death of Gary J. Maher of Oak Park,
17 Illinois; and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19 presented to the family of Gary J. Maher with our sincere
20 condolences.