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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.