Bill Text: IL HR0579 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the occasion of being confirmed to serve as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and congratulates and thanks President Barack Obama for his wise choice to move America forward by choosing Sonia Sotomayor as his Supreme Court nominee.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2009-10-14 - Resolution Adopted [HR0579 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HR0579-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives are pleased to congratulate United States
Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the
occasion of being confirmed to serve as an Associate Justice of
the United States Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, Sonia Sotomayor was born to a Puerto Rican family
and grew up in a public housing project in New York City's
South Bronx area; her father passed away when she was nine
years old; her mother then raised her and her younger brother,
Juan; after her father's death, she turned to books for solace;
her new-found love of reading and learning ultimately led her
to the law; and
WHEREAS, Driven by her incredible work ethic, Sonia
Sotomayor excelled in school; she graduated as valedictorian of
her class at Blessed Sacrament and at Cardinal Spellman High
School in New York; inspired by her high school debate coach,
Ken Moy, she won a scholarship and attended Princeton
University; at Princeton, she continued to excel, graduating
summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa; she was a co-recipient of
the M. Taylor Pyne Prize, the highest honor Princeton awards to
an undergraduate; she then attended Yale Law School, where she
served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and as managing

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editor of the Yale Studies in World Public Order; and
WHEREAS, Sonia Sotomayor has had extensive experience at
almost every level of the federal judicial system; after
graduating from Yale Law School, she became an Assistant
District Attorney in Manhattan in 1979, where she tried dozens
of criminal cases over 5 years; in October of 1992, she was
appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of
New York by President George H.W. Bush; from 1992 to 1998, she
presided over roughly 450 cases; in October of 1998, she was
promoted to serve as a judge on the United States Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit by President Bill Clinton,
becoming the first Latina to serve on that court; as a Second
Circuit judge, she participated in over 3,000 panel decisions
and authored roughly 400 published opinions; and
WHEREAS, Sonia Sotomayor has also had extensive experience
as a private attorney; she entered private practice in 1984,
becoming a partner in 1988 at the firm Pavia and Harcourt; as a
private attorney, she worked as a general civil litigator
involved in all facets of commercial work, including real
estate, employment, banking, contracts, and agency law; and
WHEREAS, Sonia Sotomayor served as a lecturer at Columbia
University Law School and as an adjunct professor at New York
University Law School until 2007; and

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WHEREAS, Sonia Sotomayor has served as a member of the
Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness
in the Courts and is a former member of the Boards of Directors
of the New York Mortgage Agency, the New York City Campaign
Finance Board, and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education
Fund; and
WHEREAS, Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation to the Supreme
Court is a moment that all Americans, particularly Latino
Americans, can be proud of in the rich history of this nation;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
congratulate Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the occasion of her
confirmation and wish her great success in her tenure as an
Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That we congratulate and thank President Barack
Obama for his wise choice to move America forward by choosing
Sonia Sotomayor as his Supreme Court nominee; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
presented to Judge Sonia Sotomayor and President Barack Obama

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as a symbol of our esteem and respect.