AJR83: Joint Resolution Text

LRB-4577/2

CGR:kmg:rs

2001 - 2002 LEGISLATURE

2001 Assembly JOINT RESOLUTION 83

January 16, 2002 - Introduced by Representatives Plale, Schooff, Jensen, Ryba, Jeskewitz, Black, Olsen, Krug, Stone, Richards, Gunderson, Sinicki, Vrakas, Staskunas, Freese, J. Lehman, McCormick, Wasserman, Hines, Miller, Owens, Riley, Lippert, Coggs, M. Lehman, Plouff, Ladwig, La Fave, Ziegelbauer, Krusick, Schneider, Boyle, Pocan and Walker, cosponsored by Senators Burke, Chvala, Rosenzweig, Grobschmidt, Darling, Plache, Kanavas, Hansen, Welch, Risser, Panzer, Wirch, Moen and Jauch. Referred to Committee on Rules.

AJR83,1,2 Relating to: the life and public service of Wisconsin Governor and Federal Judge John W. Reynolds, Jr.

AJR83,1,4 Whereas, John W. Reynolds, Jr., was born on April 4, 1921, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and died on January 6, 2002, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and

AJR83,1,10 Whereas, Mr. Reynolds was born into a family that was active in progressive politics and he gained political experience from his grandfather, Tom Reynolds of Door County, who was elected to the Wisconsin assembly serving in the 1907 and 1909 sessions, and was credited with establishing Peninsula State Park, and his father, John W. Reynolds, Sr., who was Wisconsin attorney general from 1927 to 1933; and

AJR83,1,13 Whereas, Mr. Reynolds graduated from Green Bay East High School and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied economics and earned a Ph.D. degree in 1946 and an LL.B degree in 1949; and

AJR83,1,15 Whereas, he served his country as a first lieutenant in the Counter Intelligence Corps in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1942 to 1946; and

AJR83,2,2 Whereas, in 1947, he married Patricia Ann Brady, who preceded him in death in 1967; and later he married Jane C. Conway in 1971; and

AJR83,2,4 Whereas, Mr. Reynolds was appointed director of the federal Office of Price Stabilization from 1951 to 1953; and

AJR83,2,6 Whereas, he joined his father's law firm in Green Bay and practiced law from 1952 to 1958; and

AJR83,2,8 Whereas, he became the U.S. commissioner for the Eastern Federal Judicial District of Wisconsin and served from 1955 to 1958; and

AJR83,2,11 Whereas, following in his father's footsteps, Mr. Reynolds was elected Wisconsin attorney general in 1958 and reelected in 1960, serving from 1959 to 1963; and

AJR83,2,13 Whereas, while attorney general, Mr. Reynolds worked to improve conditions and services for patients in the state mental hospitals; and

AJR83,2,15 Whereas, he was elected governor of Wisconsin in 1962, serving from 1963 to 1965; and

AJR83,2,19 Whereas, during his tenure as governor, Mr. Reynolds won passage of the Homestead Tax Credit plan, giving relief to low-income homeowners and renters; established the first Commission on Women and Council on the Arts; and was an early advocate of Wisconsin's open records law; and

AJR83,2,21 Whereas, after serving as governor, he was appointed a federal judge to the Eastern District of Wisconsin in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson; and

AJR83,2,24 Whereas, after 14 years (1971 to 1986) as chief federal judge, Mr. Reynolds retired in 1986, continuing to hear cases as a senior judge as long as his health permitted; and

AJR83,3,2 Whereas, throughout his entire distinguished career as federal judge, Mr. Reynolds stood for fairness and was long known as a champion of civil rights; and

AJR83,3,3 Whereas, Mr. Reynolds was regarded as a fair and impartial judge; and

AJR83,3,6 Whereas, as chief judge in 1976, Judge Reynolds issued the decision most strongly associated with his name: the order to desegregate the Milwaukee Public Schools; and

AJR83,3,8 Whereas, in his later years on the court, he served as one of 3 judges on another landmark case that changed state law on involuntary mental commitment; and

AJR83,3,12 Whereas, in 1988, Mr. Reynolds won the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School Alumni Association, and, in 1999, received an honorary degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison; now, therefore, be it

AJR83,3,16 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commend the devoted public service that John W. Reynolds, Jr., contributed to this state, express their sorrow at his death, and extend their condolences to his family and friends; and, be it further

AJR83,3,19 Resolved, That the assembly chief clerk shall provide copies of this joint resolution to Mr. Reynold's wife, Jane Conway Reynolds; to his sons, Jim, Tom, Jake, and John III; and to his daughters, Kate Lindquist and Frances Reynolds.

AJR83,3,20 (End)