[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 136 (Friday, October 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1887]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE SIDNEY R. YATES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 1, 1998

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay my respects to my Illinois 
colleague, Congressman Sidney Yates, as he nears the end of this, his 
24th and final term as a Member of this body.
  Congressman Yates has been a true patriot in the very best sense of 
the word. He has been a stalwart advocate for issues near and dear to 
his heart and those of the people he has so ably represented over the 
years.
  In 1996, Congressman Yates told the Chicago Sun-Times that, ``my 
promise is to fight, and I did that.''
  Indeed he has done so. Sidney Yates has been a tremendous advocate 
for the arts, for our environment and for our nation. His work has made 
a difference for all of us but has a particular impact on our home 
state of Illinois.
  Back home, Sidney Yates is regarded as a living standard of 
excellence in public service by which the rest of us only hope to be 
measured favorably.
  Not long ago, Congressman Yates showed me a certificate from a 
congressional baseball game that game he had played in back in 1950. It 
amused me because I hadn't even been born when that game had been 
played. As a current participant in the game, I will play hard and play 
to win as Sidney did back in 1950.
  It humbled me by the notion that I was standing next to a man who had 
played the game and played it well for so many years. Sidney Yates 
stands among us tonight as a reminder of the fact that age and 
experience can never be matched or duplicated, but can be a learning 
tool for those of us who attempt to follow it.
  From your downstate admirers, let me say thank you to an illustrious 
career whose full measure has yet to be realized.

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