[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18060]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       RETIREMENT OF ILLINOIS STATE SENATOR JEFFREY M. SCHOENBERG

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my friend, Illinois 
State Senator Jeff Schoenberg, on his more than two decades of service 
in the Illinois General Assembly.
  Jeff was elected to the Illinois House in 1990 at the age of 30. He 
served six terms there before being elected to the Illinois Senate in 
2003, where he rose through the ranks, serving as assistant majority 
leader, chairman on the Commission on Government Forecasting and 
Accountability, and vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee. More 
importantly, Jeff Schoenberg has been a dedicated public servant to his 
constituents in Evanston and to the people of Illinois for 22 years.
  During his time in the Illinois General Assembly, Jeff sponsored a 
bill that would provide better access to quality health care and give 
consumers the opportunity to make better choices for their health. He 
also secured more than $5 billion in Federal funds for safety net 
hospitals such as Mount Sinai, Mercy, and Holy Cross.
  Jeff Schoenberg supported the Illinois Safe Choice Zones Act, which 
helped pave the way for Illinois' pioneering work in stem cell 
research, and insisted on greater accountability and oversight at the 
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.
  A father of two himself, Jeff was critical to the passage of a 
measure allowing schools to keep and administer epinephrine for 
anaphylactic shock following the death of a 13-year-old girl from 
Chicago who had an allergic reaction to peanut oil while at school.
  Jeff also understood foreign policy issues, including support for 
legislation to divest State pension funds from foreign countries doing 
business with Iran and drawing attention to the genocide in Cambodia. 
Jeff visited Cambodia last month as part of a delegation representing 
the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
  Incoming State Senator Daniel Biss will have large shoes to fill 
given how well Jeff has served the Illinois Senate's Ninth District. 
Since the outset of his political career, Jeff has been inspired by the 
likes of Congressman and Federal Judge Abner Mikva and U.S. Senator 
Paul Simon, for whom he and I both worked.
  Jeff's dedication to service now takes on a new focus in improving 
the lives of children and families through an expanded role advising 
the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation on its philanthropic 
endeavors. His approach to this work is made clear by something he said 
just last year:
  My position in the Senate is only one point of entry into public 
service.
  As Jeff moves into his new role, I can only say to him: Thanks for 
being my friend and my ally in so many good causes. While you may be 
retiring from the Illinois State Senate, your constituents and I know 
that you will never retire from working for the public good.
  Thanks to Jeff Schoenberg and his family for all they have given to 
our State.

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