[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13826]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING SENATOR CHARLES PERCY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to pay 
tribute to a great American who lived in the State of Illinois, who 
represented it and the country well, Senator Charles Percy.
  I recall that when Senator Percy was elected, I was a young 
schoolteacher, community activist. I also was an individual who 
interacted with lots of people who were very cynical about government, 
politics, whether or not there was any potential for change. So we had 
an opportunity to see in action one of the most forceful individuals in 
public life, one that you didn't describe necessarily as a Democrat or 
a Republican. You didn't characterize him as a conservative or a 
liberal. You really thought of Senator Percy as simply a good, solid 
United States Senator who represented well not only his constituents, 
but who provided leadership for the Nation and for the country.
  I think I learned at that time the meaning of town hall meetings 
because Senator Percy would hold those; and although he was a 
Republican by political stripe--and many of the people where I lived 
and interacted with were Democrats in terms of political stripe--we 
just would turn out at Senator Percy's town halls to know what was 
taking place, what was going on, what was happening. I personally owe a 
tremendous debt of gratitude to him for helping to shape my own 
political philosophy, some of my political ideology, some of the things 
that I dream about and hope for and work towards.
  And so I extend condolences to his family, wish them well, and know 
that America is a better place because Chuck Percy served in the United 
States Senate and served all of America.

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