[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H10790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THANKS FOR THE KIND AND GENEROUS WORDS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PORTER. Madam Speaker, one of the reasons I want to rise tonight 
is to commend you, Madam Speaker, and to thank you from the bottom of 
my heart for the special order that you held for me last week and for 
the very kind and generous words that were spread across the Record of 
this wonderful institution about my service here. You brought together 
many of our Illinois colleagues, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
LaHood), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus), the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Ewing), on our side, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Crane), and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) as well; the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Costello), and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) on the other 
side of the aisle; together with others, the gentleman from Arkansas 
(Mr. Dickey), a member of my subcommittee, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr.  Frelinghuysen), the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. 
Maloney), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Hobson), the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the co-
chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus with me; the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), my long time friend, so many of 
my colleagues that I am so indebted to for the very wonderful words 
that they spoke about my service in Congress; together with messages 
from our Illinois Governor, George Ryan, who was elected at the same 
time I was to the Illinois General Assembly 28 years ago in 1972; my 
endorsed candidate for the Tenth Congressional District seat and my 
former chief of staff Mark Kirk, two of my former AA's in Washington, 
Rob Bradner and Gordon McDougall; former State Senator Dave Backhausen, 
Senator Kathy Parker, Representative Jeff Schoenberg, Representative 
Beth Carlson, and our senior Illinois Senator also elected in the class 
of 1972 in Springfield and my long time friend Adeline Geocaris, 
together with messages from both of my staffs. It was very, very heart 
warming for me to sit down. I didn't have a chance to actually listen 
but I do have a videotape. For me, Madam Speaker, to be able to sit 
down and read through all the wonderful words that were said I can 
never thank you enough for providing the leadership and putting that 
together in my behalf. I will always remember it and remember you very, 
very fondly.
  Let me add that I did not realize until I came to the floor that 
there was a special order tonight for Tillie Fowler. Tillie is one of 
the great people, I was going to say one of the great ladies, but one 
of the great people of this House of Representatives. She has the 
quality that I believe is most important in a public official, that is, 
she is quietly effective. She gets things done for the people of her 
district and her State and this country. We are truly losing a great 
leader. Madam Speaker, she has made only one mistake in the entire time 
she has been in this House of Representatives, and that mistake was in 
term-limiting herself. I wish that she was staying for many, many terms 
to come. Unfortunately, she has committed to only four terms and is 
observing that promise that she made to her constituents. We will miss 
her a great deal.
  Madam Speaker, I wanted to take some time. I have been a Member of 
this body for 21 years. I would not have gotten here and had the 
opportunity to serve my constituents and my country except for the 
great efforts of very close friends of mine that started me on a path a 
long time ago that led to my service here in Congress.
  I want to refer to these friends by name, a group within the Young 
Republicans of Evanston, a very powerful body once in the Republican 
Party in Illinois, 450 members strong. Republican candidates for 
governor would come to get the endorsement of our Young Republican 
group, and Paul Brown and Cordy Overgaard, Bob Barr and Bill Carey, Tom 
Gooding, Ted Ritter, Peter Sawers, Arnold Winfield, Don Grossman, Reed 
Bradford, Paul Gerding, Marv Juliar and many others; their wives Margo 
Brown, Gail Overgaard, Carol Carey, Joyce Gooding and Joanne Ritter, 
Mary Sawers and Bonnie Lytle and her husband, Jay, Florence Winfield 
and Sue Grossman, now very recently deceased and we miss her very much; 
Sherry Bradford and Barb Juliar and Ellen Gerding, all of them came 
together, Trish Barr, all of them came together to help me get elected 
to this office and I am indebted to each one of them.

                          ____________________