HJ0140 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0140 LRB099 21097 GRL 46757 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly wish to congratulate Mike Lawrence on the occasion of his retirement and thank him for his many decades of service to the people of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Mike Lawrence recently left his fourth career, stepping down as advisor to the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Mike Lawrence was born in Chicago and raised in Galesburg, where his keen mind and attention to details were honed at the Sunday dinner table by his history educator-trained father, Mark, and his mother, Gladys, who encouraged debate that included Mike and his younger sister, Susie, and challenged them to support their comments by facts; and

WHEREAS, Mike took these lessons learned to own and operate his own newspaper at the age of 11; the two to four page Lawrence Weekly had a circulation of 20, with the copies created by Mike using his well-known, aggressive hunt and peck style on his typewriter, making multiple copies with carbon paper in the days before copy machines; it was during this time that he earned the nickname "Scoop"; and

WHEREAS, Mike Lawrence continued his journalism career, earning his first byline at the Galesburg Register-Mail, reporting on little league baseball games at the age of 14; his first paycheck for reporting came at the Register-Mail when he was 16; he continued to sharpen his writing skills as Sports Editor of his junior high newspaper and Editor-in-Chief of his high school newspaper, where he interviewed Governor William Stratton in what would be the first of his many interactions with this and future chief executives of the State of Illinois; he was also Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper at Knox College in Galesburg, where he received his post-secondary education and graduated with a bachelor's degree in literature in 1964; and

WHEREAS, Mike Lawrence went on to work in journalism for 25 years; during his newspaper career, he served stints as Managing Editor and Editorial Page Editor of the Quad-City Times; specializing in Illinois State government and politics, he wrote a political column that was syndicated to more than 40 newspapers in Illinois; he capped his newspaper career in the Springfield Statehouse, opening a bureau for Lee Enterprises and finishing his first career, as journalist, as the Statehouse Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times; he was known as a deeply probing, yet fair, investigative reporter; and

WHEREAS, Mike Lawrence became Press Secretary to then-Secretary of State Jim Edgar in 1987, following him to the Governor's office in 1991 and continuing to serve as his Press Secretary and one of his closest advisors; the Lawrence-Edgar relationship was built on mutual trust and respect, with Lawrence feeling that as an advisor it was important to be "frank, blunt, and even argumentative with the boss"; that relationship led to a strong friendship which continues today; and

WHEREAS, In 1997, Mike Lawrence joined the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale as Associate Director; he became Director of the Institute in 2004, succeeding its founding director, the late Paul Simon; while at the Institute, he taught both journalism and political science classes and mentored countless students; and

WHEREAS, In 2008, Mike Lawrence retired as Director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute; he then used his new-found time to reinvigorate his investigative reporter skills, writing a column for the commentary pages of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the State Journal-Register, the Quad City Times, the Champaign News Gazette, the Southern Illinoisan, and other newspapers; he was also sought out as an Illinois government and public policy speaker and advisor; and

WHEREAS, Mike Lawrence has been recognized for his tremendous contributions to journalism and State government; he was honored by the Associated Press Editors Association in 2003 for his exemplary service to other journalists and newspapers in Illinois and received the Paul Simon Award for Public Service from the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform in 2006; he also received the Illinoisan of the Year award in 2008 from the Illinois News Broadcaster Association; and

WHEREAS, In 1998, Mike Lawrence received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from his alma mater, Knox College; he also served on the Illinois Courts Commission, which decides cases in which disciplinary charges have been brought against judges, and was also one of the first non-judges appointed to serve on the commission; and

WHEREAS, Mike Lawrence has served as a key advisor to Governor Edgar at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois since 2011; he was instrumental in helping create the Edgar Fellows program in 2012, choosing up to 40 up-and-comers in Illinois public policy for intensive executive training and on-going relationship building opportunities each year since then; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we thank Mike Lawrence for his many years of service and the work he has done to shape many generations involved in public service in the State of Illinois, providing a shining example of hard work, integrity, and thoughtful insights, and wish him all the best in his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Mike Lawrence, his wife, Marianne, his son, Matt, and his daughter, Katy, as an expression of our congratulations and appreciation for a job well done.