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92_SR0488
LRB9217521BHbh
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3 to learn of the death of William E. Hartnett, formerly of
4 Grayslake, who passed away July 21, 2002; and
5 WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett was born December 4, 1919, in
6 Chicago; he enlisted in the Army prior to the attack on Pearl
7 Harbor and requested a transfer to train as a pilot in the
8 Army Air Corps; during World War II, he flew 58 missions over
9 France and the Netherlands piloting a B-26 Martin Marauder
10 named the Chicago Cyclone, and later was a flight instructor;
11 he was discharged a highly decorated captain in 1945; and
12 WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett was a veteran Lake County attorney,
13 law maker, and Democratic Party activist; during a long
14 political and legal career, he was a former chairman of the
15 Lake County Democratic Party, a legislator, and candidate in
16 1970 for the Illinois Supreme Court; and
17 WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett often clashed with county Democrats
18 over a number of issues, including establishment of the
19 College of Lake County, and party ideals during his
20 chairmanship of the Democratic Party from 1962 to 1964; he
21 took on Republican opponents with relish; and
22 WHEREAS, In 1978, Mr. Hartnett sued then Governor James
23 Thompson for discrepancies over a petition for a tax-cap
24 amendment, claiming forgery by Lake County Republican
25 Leaders; and
26 WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett was first elected to the Illinois
27 House in 1964 on the so-called "bed sheet ballot", the only
28 statewide election of 118 legislators after the General
29 Assembly failed to agree on redistricting; and
30 WHEREAS, During his lone two-year term in the House, Mr.
31 Hartnett helped write the State's Junior College Act and was
-2- LRB9217521BHbh
1 instrumental in the establishment of the College of Lake
2 County; later, he became the college's attorney; and
3 WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett first practiced law in the McHenry
4 County seat of Woodstock after receiving his law degree in
5 1947 from the University of Virginia; in 1953, he became a
6 trial lawyer with the National Labor Relations Board in St.
7 Louis; two years later, he moved back to Lake County and
8 established his private practice in Waukegan; and
9 WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett represented a number of firms,
10 including The News Sun, many labor unions and school
11 districts, and was a defense counsel for State Farm
12 Insurance; and
13 WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett was a member of the Lake County and
14 Illinois State Bar Associations, several charitable and civic
15 organizations, and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
16 Association; and
17 WHEREAS, Mr. Hartnett will be deeply missed by all those
18 who knew him and loved him, especially his wife, Betty; his
19 two sons, William R. Hartnett and Jeffrey Hartnett; his two
20 daughters, Emilie Downs and Elizabeth Hartnett; and his
21 eleven grandchildren; therefore, be it
22 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
23 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
24 all those who knew him and loved him, the death of William E.
25 Hartnett; and be it further
26 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
27 presented to the family of William Hartnett as an expression
28 of our esteem.