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1		HOUSE RESOLUTION
2		WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3		Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former
4		Illinois State Representative and State Senator Don Totten, who
5		passed away on April 2, 2019 at the age of 86; and
6		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten was born in Brooklyn, New York on
7		April 30, 1945 and grew up in New Jersey; he earned a
8		bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the
9		University of Notre Dame; and
10		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten married his high school sweetheart
11		Joyce Anderson, his wife of 63 years who preceded him in death
12		last June; they began a life together that produced four
13		children and grew to include seven grandchildren and one
14		great-grandchild; and
15		WHEREAS, Their first daughter, Donna, died of leukemia at
16		the age of 7; a longtime friend said this defining moment
17		created Sen. Totten's remarkable affinity for people and his
18		understanding of human suffering; and
19		WHEREAS, After he graduated from Notre Dame, Sen. Totten
20		spent several years working as an engineer, but politics,
21		informed by a love of the world's greatest thinkers stretching

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1		back to Ancient Greece, soon became central in his life; and
2		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten began his political career as a
3		Schaumburg Township Republican Committeeman; in 1972, he was
4		elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where he
5		served eight years; he then served two years in the Illinois
6		Senate; and
7		WHEREAS, During his tenure, Sen. Totten served on the
8		Appropriations, Transportation, and Revenue Committees, and
9		was the chief sponsor of the Taxpayers Rights Amendment, a
10		constitutional amendment to limit state taxes; and
11		WHEREAS, In 1976, Sen. Totten was the Illinois and Midwest
12		campaign director for then-presidential candidate Ronald
13		Reagan, trying to unseat incumbent Republican President Gerald
14		Ford as part of the grassroots army that thought the Nixon-Ford
15		Administration had strayed too far into big government and too
16		close to the Soviet Union; and
17		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten remained loyal to Ronald Reagan, and,
18		in 1980, after serving again as presidential candidate Reagan's
19		Illinois and Midwest campaign director, Reagan won the
20		Republican nomination and eventually the White House; Sen.
21		Totten's dedication led him all the way to President-elect
22		Ronald Reagan's transition team; he was later appointed by

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1		President Reagan to the International Joint Commission, a body
2		that handles United States and Canadian affairs; and
3		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten was also chairman of the Cook County
4		Republican Party; in 1982, he ran unsuccessfully, on the
5		Republican side, for lieutenant governor, losing to the
6		eventual governor, George Ryan; and
7		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten later founded and served as the
8		national chairman for the American Legislative Exchange
9		Council, a Washington-based organization of state lawmakers
10		dedicated to the principles of limited government, free
11		markets, and federalism; and
12		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten was also a member of the board of
13		directors of the Illinois Conservative Union, former
14		vice-chairman of the National Council of State Legislators,
15		vice-president of the National Tax Limitation Committee, and
16		chairman of the Illinois Tax Limitation Committee; and
17		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten also served as assistant to the
18		director of the Department of Transportation for the State of
19		Illinois and as president of a firm specializing in government
20		relations, management, and political consulting; and
21		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten suffered for much of his life from

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1		Bell's palsy, a condition that made the left side of his face
2		droop, and while he was not known as a natural public speaker,
3		he was one of the greatest listeners in politics, always eager
4		to hear other's stories; and
5		WHEREAS, Sen. Totten was a strong believer in America and
6		welcoming newcomers to this country, helping to inculcate them
7		in the principles of the American Declaration of Independence
8		and the United States Constitution; he took great pleasure in
9		helping people navigate the immigration and citizenship
10		process; therefore, be it
11		RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12		HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13		we mourn the passing of former Illinois State Representative
14		and State Senator Don Totten and extend our sincere condolences
15		to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be
16		it further
17		RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
18		presented to his sister, Barbara Hellenack, and his children,
19		Kathy Weber, Diane Faldstein, and Robert Totten.