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92_SR0103
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1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Senate wish to express their
3 sincere condolences to the family and friends of federal
4 Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, who passed away on March 17,
5 2001; and
6 WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln Marovitz was born in Oshkosh,
7 Wisconsin on August 10, 1905; together with his parents,
8 Joseph and Rachel, his brothers, Sydney and Harold, and his
9 sisters, Bess and Jeanette, young Mr. Marovitz moved to
10 Chicago in 1910; he sold newspapers, delivered groceries and
11 telegrams, and fought as a club prizefighter at Kid Howard's
12 Gym to earn money; and
13 WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln Marovitz attended Jefferson
14 Elementary and Medill High School and was active in Boys
15 Brotherhood Republic; and
16 WHEREAS, While boxing in clubs around the city, Abraham
17 Lincoln Marovitz also worked as an office boy for a law firm;
18 Alfred Austrian, head of the law firm, called the young man
19 into his office and asked if it was his intent to make a
20 career of boxing; Mr. Marovitz replied that it was not, and
21 was told to go register for night school at the Kent College
22 of Law, with the law firm paying for the tuition; and
23 WHEREAS, After his graduation in 1925 at the age of 19,
24 Abraham Lincoln Marovitz had to wait almost two years before
25 taking the bar exam; he may have been the last sitting
26 federal judge who never went to college before attending law
27 school; and
28 WHEREAS, From 1927 to 1932 Mr. Marovitz was an aggressive
29 assistant State's attorney; after the political climate
30 changed and he was forced out of the State's attorney's
31 office, he and his brothers started their own practice; Mr.
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1 Marovitz garnered the attention of Alderman Jacob Arvey of
2 the 24th Ward, moved into the ward and became a Democratic
3 precinct captain, and was soon on his way to the Illinois
4 Senate; and
5 WHEREAS, Elected to the Illinois Senate in 1938, Abraham
6 Lincoln Marovitz was the first Jewish Senator of the State of
7 Illinois; during his time in the Legislature he negotiated
8 compromises between Democrats and Republicans, but also stood
9 by his original goals for legislation; he served in the
10 Illinois Senate during the 61st through 66th General
11 Assemblies, leaving the office in 1950; and
12 WHEREAS, In 1943, Senator Marovitz waived senatorial
13 deferment and enlisted as a private in the United States
14 Marine Corps, where he was assigned to non-combat duties;
15 Adlai Stevenson, then special assistant to the secretary of
16 the Navy, arranged for Mr. Marovitz and his commanding
17 officer to see combat duty during their time of service; and
18 WHEREAS, In 1950, Richard J. Daley, then Cook County
19 clerk, swore in Abraham Lincoln Marovitz as a judge of the
20 Cook County Superior Court; Judge Marovitz in turn swore in
21 Mr. Daley as the elected county clerk; Judge Marovitz later
22 swore in Mayor Daley six times to his office with the City of
23 Chicago, as well as his son, Mayor Richard M. Daley, for his
24 terms as Mayor; in 1963 President John F. Kennedy named Judge
25 Marovitz to the federal bench, as a judge in the Northern
26 Illinois District; and
27 WHEREAS, Judge Marovitz was a collector of Abraham
28 Lincoln items, including busts, pictures, autographed
29 letters, children's drawings, and other keepsakes; he also
30 had friendships with Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Hubert
31 Humphrey, Joe E. Lewis, Jimmy Durante, popes, poets,
32 senators, and singers, and kept the photos of his friends on
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1 his chamber walls; and
2 WHEREAS, After his 70th birthday in 1975, Judge Marovitz
3 accepted senior status with the federal court; until recently
4 he went to his chambers in the Dirksen Federal Building on a
5 daily basis; and
6 WHEREAS, Judge Marovitz received the honor of having
7 Plymouth Court from Jackson to Van Buren renamed Abraham
8 Lincoln Marovitz Court; in Israel there is also a forest with
9 200,000 trees named after him; and
10 WHEREAS, Judge Marovitz is survived by his nieces and
11 nephews, Adrienne Garman, Sanford Marovitz, James Marovitz,
12 Robert Marovitz, and former Illinois State Senator William
13 Marovitz; and
14 WHEREAS, Judge Marovitz was a member of Congregation
15 Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel and Chicago Loop Synagogue; the
16 passing of Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz will be deeply felt
17 by the people of the City of Chicago and the State of
18 Illinois; therefore, be it
19 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
20 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the death of
21 Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz and extend our sincere
22 sympathies to his family and friends at this time; and be it
23 further
24 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
25 presented to the family of Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz.