[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 197 (Tuesday, December 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO JOHN CULLERTON

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, this January, it will be 12 years since 
Illinois banned smoking in businesses. In 2008, the Smoke-Free Illinois 
Act went into effect and changed the lives of people throughout the 
State. There has been a 20-percent decrease in hospitalizations for 
conditions aggravated by secondhand smoke, like asthma, chronic 
obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart attacks. High school smoking 
rates have fallen more than 53 percent since then. This is real change. 
My friend, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, led that fight to 
save lives. His storied career is one of working for good government 
and the safety of people. In January, he will be retiring, and I want 
to take this time to honor him.
  John grew up in the village of Winfield in DuPage County. His family 
has deep roots in Illinois as one of the original settlers in Chicago 
in 1835. If you are wandering Chicago, you might come across Cullerton 
Street, which used to be 20th Street. It was named after John's great-
grandfather's brother, Edward ``Foxy'' Cullerton. Edward, originally 
elected to Chicago city council in 1871, served one of the longest 
tenures as a Chicago alderman in the city's history. The Cullertons 
have been a staple of Illinois politics ever since.
  Though it may seem like the Cullerton family is just filled with 
politicians, John's father and paternal grandfather were electricians. 
In fact, most of his immediate family was not political. John's role 
model was his maternal grandfather, Tom Tyrell, a real-estate lawyer in 
Chicago. At 12 years old, John wanted to be a lawyer because of him. 
His grandfather would give legal lessons at the dinner table. He would 
cut cherry pie and explain how corporations have shares.
  John went to Loyola University Chicago and earned a bachelor's degree 
in political science. He stayed at Loyola to study law. John also 
served in the Illinois National Guard from 1970 to 1976. In law school, 
John experienced firsthand how litigation can bring change. As 
president of the Loyola University Chicago Student Bar Association, he 
saw his fellow students draft a complaint against the school for not 
providing adequate facilities for the law school. The students hired a 
lawyer and actually negotiated a deal without filing a lawsuit. A few 
years after John and his classmates graduated, a brand-new law school 
was built at the corner of Pearson and State in Chicago, which still 
stands today.
  John's first job was working as a Chicago assistant public defender. 
For 5 years, he was on the frontlines of law defending people. In 1976, 
John earned his first political experience by being elected to be a 
delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Though John's immediate 
family was not very political, his cousin Parky Cullerton was Cook 
County tax assessor at the time. Parky's influence convinced him that 
he could run for the Illinois House of Representatives, and he won in 
1978.
  In 1988, John joined Fagel Haber, which later became Thompson Coburn 
Fagel Haber, where he still is a partner today. In 1990, John was 
appointed to fill then-State Senator Dawn Clark Netsch's seat. John won 
the seat on his own right in 1992, representing the Chicago Cubs' 
neighborhood of Wrigleyville, but he remained a loyal White Sox fan.
  John thrived in the Senate. Between 2003 and 2006, he sponsored more 
bills and had more bills signed by the Governor than any other 
legislator. John dedicated himself to things like traffic safety, gun 
control, reforming the criminal justice system, and tobacco regulation. 
John would work with anyone for a greater good. He always made it a 
point of going out to dinner not just with Democratic State senators 
but with Republican ones too.
  In 2008, the senate Democratic caucus chose John to be senate 
president. Immediately, John prioritized an infrastructure bill that 
had not passed in 10 years at the time. John has steered the senate 
through many tough times. He can proudly say that, during his time, 
Illinois passed two capital funding bills, marriage equality, an 
abolishment of the death penalty, school funding reform, and 
immigration reform. John has encouraged bipartisanship and cooperation 
through all of it.
  For 41 years, John has served with a sense of justice, friendship, 
and even comedy. He regularly performed at an annual event at the 
legendary Second City Chicago Theater. His impersonation of then-Mayor 
Richard J. Daley earned him the crown of Mr. Wonderful from the 
Conference of Women Legislators in 1979.
  John retiring from the senate will allow him to spend more time with 
his wife Pam and his kids Maggie, Garritt, Carroll, John III, and 
Josephine, and his three grandchildren. I am privileged to call him a 
friend and look forward to all the new things he will take on in the 
future.
  (At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)
 Ms. HARRIS. Madam President, I was absent but had I been 
present, I would have voted no on rollcall vote No. 383 the 
confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 479, Richard Ernest Myers II, of 
North Carolina, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern 
District of North Carolina.
  Madam President, I was absent but had I been present, I would have 
voted no on rollcall vote No. 384, the confirmation of Executive 
Calendar No. 489, Sherri A. Lydon, of South Carolina, to be United 
States District Judge for the District of South Carolina.
  Madam President, I was absent but had I been present I would have 
voted no on rollcall vote No. 386, the motion to invoke cloture on 
Executive Calendar No. 533, Patrick J. Bumatay, of California, to be 
United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit.

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