Bill Text: IL SJR0040 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Designates the Rochelle State Route 251 overpass as the "Sen. John B. "Jack" Roe Overpass".
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - Referred to Assignments [SJR0040 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SJR0040-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, It is highly fitting that the Illinois General | ||||||
3 | Assembly pay respect to the life of former Illinois State | ||||||
4 | Senator John Benjamin "Jack" Roe III by honoring him with a | ||||||
5 | memorial overpass on Rochelle State Route 251; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe's family has a long history of service | ||||||
7 | to the State of Illinois; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe's great-grandfather, Dr. John Roe, was | ||||||
9 | born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1800 and moved to Ogle | ||||||
10 | County in 1836; he was the first doctor in the Rock River | ||||||
11 | Valley; he established a farm and medical practice on a hill, | ||||||
12 | which later became known as "Lighthouse Point" because Dr. Roe | ||||||
13 | and his wife kept a light burning in a window as a beacon so | ||||||
14 | that all knew how to find the doctor; that land now houses the | ||||||
15 | Lighthouse Church and Cemetery and was donated by the Roe | ||||||
16 | family; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe was born to Jane Gilbert and John B. Roe | ||||||
18 | II on November 21, 1942; he graduated from Oregon Community | ||||||
19 | High School in 1960 and Center College in Danville, Kentucky | ||||||
20 | in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and | ||||||
21 | History; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe attended the University of Illinois, | ||||||
2 | where he graduated from law school in 1967 and began his | ||||||
3 | practice of law in Ogle County; he served as a public defender | ||||||
4 | for the county and was then elected the youngest state's | ||||||
5 | attorney in Illinois in 1968; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe was elected State Senator of the 35th | ||||||
7 | District of Illinois in 1972 and was the first freshman | ||||||
8 | senator to be appointed to the Committee of Committees; he | ||||||
9 | also served on the Legislative Investigative Commission; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe sponsored the Illinois Campaign | ||||||
11 | Disclosure Act, requiring candidates for public office to | ||||||
12 | disclose their contributors and their expenditures; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe sponsored and passed legislation that | ||||||
14 | appropriated the necessary funds for the first leg of the | ||||||
15 | North-South Freeway from Rockford to the west tollway | ||||||
16 | extension of Rochelle and legislation allocating money for the | ||||||
17 | U.S. 20 Freeway Bypass system to be built from Lena to east of | ||||||
18 | Freeport; and
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19 | WHEREAS, In 1976, Sen. Roe was approached by Robert "Bob" | ||||||
20 | Hultgren, a local businessman and entrepreneur, and Mayor Bill | ||||||
21 | Cipolla to obtain assistance and funding to place an overpass | ||||||
22 | on then U.S. Route 51 through Rochelle; at that time, U.S. |
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1 | Route 51 was the major north-south thoroughfare through the | ||||||
2 | state; Rochelle had two sets of railroad tracks, the Chicago | ||||||
3 | Northwestern and Burlington Northern; as many as 80 trains a | ||||||
4 | day went through Rochelle, creating delays of 15 to 20 minutes | ||||||
5 | for each train; the city had become known as Jamtown and | ||||||
6 | Delaysville by truckers; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe obtained the money necessary to | ||||||
8 | construct the Rochelle overpass; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe was appointed Chief Justice of the | ||||||
10 | Illinois Court of Claims by Governor Jim Thompson in 1979; he | ||||||
11 | was a member of the Rochelle Grade School Board of District 230 | ||||||
12 | from 1982 to 1984; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Sen Roe. practiced law in Rochelle from 1973 to | ||||||
14 | 1995; he was appointed a circuit judge in 1995 by the Illinois | ||||||
15 | Supreme Court and was elected as a circuit judge in 1996; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe retired as a judge in 2000 and was a | ||||||
17 | member of the Governor's Commission to Revise and Rewrite The | ||||||
18 | Illinois Criminal Code; he was also a member of the board of | ||||||
19 | the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and served | ||||||
20 | on the faculty at Stetson University College of Law in St. | ||||||
21 | Petersburg, Florida as an adjunct professor; he was a | ||||||
22 | Certified Florida County Circuit and Family Mediator and a |
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1 | Certified Mediator of the U.S. District Court Middle District | ||||||
2 | of Florida and U.S. District Court Northern District of | ||||||
3 | Illinois; he was a Florida Bar Association arbitrator and | ||||||
4 | mediator and was a certified mediator and arbitrator of the | ||||||
5 | 12th Circuit of Florida and the 15th Circuit of Illinois; he | ||||||
6 | was a Manatee County Florida administration hearing officer | ||||||
7 | and was an arbitrator for the New York and Nasdaq Stock | ||||||
8 | Exchanges; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Sen. Roe was preceded in death by his parents; | ||||||
10 | and
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11 | WHEREAS, At the time of his passing, Sen. Roe was survived | ||||||
12 | by his wife of 47 years, Phyllis, who was his companion, love, | ||||||
13 | best friend, and caretaker; his son, John B. "Ben" (Irene) Roe | ||||||
14 | IV; his stepdaughter, Julie (Jim) Watt; his grandchildren, | ||||||
15 | John Benjamin Roe V, Mary Margaret Roe, Justin Watt, and Emma | ||||||
16 | Watt; his sister, Ruth Roe Arth; and many nieces and nephews | ||||||
17 | and extended family members; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Without the leadership, statesmanship, and | ||||||
19 | perseverance of Sen. Roe, the Rochelle overpass would not have | ||||||
20 | been built; therefore, be it
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21 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
22 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF |
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1 | REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the | ||||||
2 | Rochelle State Route 251 overpass as the "Sen. John B. "Jack" | ||||||
3 | Roe Overpass"; and be it further
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4 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | ||||||
5 | is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with | ||||||
6 | State and federal highway regulations, appropriate plaques or | ||||||
7 | signs giving notice of the name of the "Sen. John B. "Jack" Roe | ||||||
8 | Overpass"; and be it further
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9 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
10 | presented to the family of Sen. Roe, the Secretary of the | ||||||
11 | Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Mayor of City | ||||||
12 | of Rochelle.
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