[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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