[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 59 (Monday, April 26, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H2851-H2852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STEVE GOODMAN POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4861) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 1343 West Irving Park Road in Chicago, Illinois, as 
the ``Steve Goodman Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4861

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. STEVE GOODMAN POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 1343 West Irving Park Road in Chicago, 
     Illinois, shall be known and designated as the ``Steve 
     Goodman Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Steve Goodman Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and add any extraneous materials.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the House subcommittee with jurisdiction 
over the United States Postal Service, I am proud to present H.R. 4861 
for consideration. This legislation will designate the facility of the 
United States Postal Service located at 1343 West Irving Park Road in 
Chicago, Illinois, as the ``Steve Goodman Post Office Building.''
  Introduced by my good friend and colleague, Representative Mike 
Quigley of Chicago, on March 16, 2010, H.R. 4861 was favorably reported 
out of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on April 14, 2010 
by unanimous consent. In addition, this legislation enjoys the support 
of the entire Illinois House delegation.

                              {time}  1430

  A beloved native of the City of Chicago, American folk singer and 
songwriter Steve Goodman was born on July 25, 1948, on Chicago's north 
side. Mr. Goodman graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, 
Illinois, in 1965, and subsequently enrolled at the University of 
Illinois.
  After 1 year, Mr. Goodman left the University of Illinois in order to 
pursue a musical career. In 1968, he began performing at the famed Earl 
of Old Town folk club in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood where he first 
attracted a large popular following and where he soon became a regular 
performer throughout the city. Mr. Goodman's subsequent and 
distinguished musical career evidenced his dual mastery of songwriting 
and performance as well as his genuine devotion to his hometown, and he 
left an indelible mark on both American folk music and on the city of 
Chicago.
  As noted by the Chicago Tribune earlier this month, Mr. Goodman's 
collection of songs told ``wondrous, intricate stories,'' and ``if you 
were a fan and you lived in Chicago when he was alive, you couldn't 
help but feel like he was a private pleasure.''
  Notably, Mr. Goodman released 10 folk music albums during his life, 
which were followed by five posthumous releases. Included among his 
most enduring songs was the ``City of New Orleans,'' a song about the 
Illinois Central's City of New Orleans train that was recorded by Arlo 
Guthrie and which became a top 20 hit in 1972. The song would also 
become an American standard, covered by such musicians as Johnny Cash 
and Willie Nelson, whose recorded versions earned Mr. Goodman a 
posthumous Grammy Award in the Best Country Song category in 1985. Mr. 
Goodman later received a second posthumous Grammy Award in the Best 
Contemporary Folk Album category in 1988 for his critically acclaimed 
album ``Unfinished Business.''
  Additionally, Mr. Goodman is well-known for writing and performing a 
variety of humorous songs about the City of Chicago, including 
``Daley's Gone,'' which is a eulogy of the late mayor Richard J. Daley, 
and ``A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request,'' also ``When the Cubs Go 
Marching In'' and ``Go, Cubs. Go!'' in honor of his beloved Chicago 
Cubs. The latter song can be heard playing on the loudspeakers at 
Wrigley Field after every Cubs' home win.
  In addition to his musical contributions, Mr. Goodman is equally 
remembered for the courage and positivity that he always evidenced 
throughout his 15-year battle with leukemia. While Mr. Goodman was 
diagnosed with the disease at the early age of 20, in the words of the 
Chicago Tribune, he was always ``a little guy with a huge smile, and he 
was Chicago.''
  Regrettably, Mr. Goodman passed away on September 20, 1984, at the 
age of 36. Four days after his death, the Cubs clinched the National 
League's Eastern Division title, and on October 2, 1984, they played 
their first post-season game since the 1945 World Series. While Mr. 
Goodman had been asked to sing the national anthem for the occasion, 
Jimmy Buffet performed the ``Star-Spangled Banner'' in his absence and 
dedicated the song to Mr. Goodman, whose ashes were subsequently 
scattered at Wrigley Field.
  Mr. Speaker, let us honor the life and legacy of Mr. Goodman through 
the passage of this legislation, H.R. 4861, to designate the West 
Irving Park Road Post Office in his honor. I urge my colleagues to join 
Mr. Quigley of Chicago in supporting H.R. 4861.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OLSON. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4861, designating the 
facility of the United States Post Office, located at 1343 West Irving 
Park Road in Chicago, Illinois, as the ``Steve Goodman Post Office 
Building.''
  Born on July 25, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois, Steve Goodman began his 
lifelong musical career as a teenager. After graduating from Maine East 
High School in 1965, Mr. Goodman entered the University of Illinois and 
started a band called The Juicy Fruits with friends from the Sigma 
Alpha Mu fraternity.
  After 1 year, he left college to pursue his musical career full time. 
He was a regular performer in Chicago, and often supported himself by 
singing commercials. He often performed, but he was known as an 
excellent and influential songwriter. Known more prominently

[[Page H2852]]

in folk music circles than in commercial venues, Mr. Goodman's music 
represented a chronicle of the times, including his many, many humorous 
songs about Chicago.
  His legendary creation of the ``City of New Orleans'' got the 
attention of top recording artists, such as Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, 
Judy Collins, Chet Atkins, and Willie Nelson, who all recorded this 
much-loved song. He was also known as a diehard Cubs fan, and his songs 
were often played at Wrigley Field. In 1984, his beloved Cubs won the 
Eastern Division title in the National League for the first time.
  Sadly, Mr. Goodman died of leukemia before he could sing the ``Star-
Spangled Banner'' for that first divisional post-season game. He was 36 
years old. Jimmy Buffet filled in, dedicating the song to Mr. Goodman. 
Subsequently, some of Mr. Goodman's ashes were scattered at Wrigley 
Field.
  I appreciate the opportunity to recognize this man of Chicago, Steve 
Goodman, who is world renowned for his many musical accomplishments.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LYNCH. I thank the gentleman from Texas for his kind remarks, and 
I urge my colleagues to join with the gentleman from Chicago, Illinois, 
Congressman Mike Quigley, in supporting H.R. 4861.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4861, a 
resolution to name the Post Office at 1343 West Irving Park Road after 
Steve Goodman.
  Steve Goodman was a true Chicagoan, a legendary folk singer and 
songwriter and a faithful Cubs fan.
  Sadly, Goodman succumbed to leukemia in 1984 at the young age of 36 
after a courageous 15-year battle with the disease.
  Over the course of his illness, Goodman wrote some of the most 
enduring American folk songs, including ``The City of New Orleans,'' 
for which he won one of his two Grammy awards, and the great Chicago 
tune ``Lincoln Park Pirates.''
  Goodman's career was inexorably intertwined with Chicago's Old Town 
School of Folk Music, where he learned his craft and and befriended 
folk music luminaries such as Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, Bob Gibson, 
Bonnie Koloc, and John Prine.
  While older Goodman fans are no doubt aware of his connection to the 
Cubs, best exemplified by his song ``A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request,'' 
in recent years younger generations have come to know Steve Goodman as 
the writer and performer of ``Go, Cubs, Go,'' the anthem played at 
Wrigley Field following Cubs' wins.
  Steve's spirit lives on after every Cubs home win, as thousands of 
fans happily head home from Wrigley singing, ``Go Cubs, Go . . . ''
  With the passage of this legislation, it's possible that the strains 
of this happy tune will be heard on the steps of the Steve Goodman Post 
Office, not a mile up Clark Street from Wrigley Field.
  Naming the Post Office at 1343 West Irving Park Road after Steve 
Goodman is a small but fitting way to honor the life and work of a man 
whose music was always imbued with emotions and scenes of everyday 
life.
  I urge the swift passage of this legislation.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4861.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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