HR1259 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Constable James Quinn died in the line of duty on December 5, 1853, having succumbed to serious injuries sustained while discharging his duties as both a constable and an early member of the municipal police force in Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Having sustained a broken rib and an injured jaw in the first attack and having been thrown to the ground and kicked several times resulting in fractured ribs and a punctured lung during a second attack, Constable Quinn continued to pursue an escaped prisoner; and

WHEREAS, On the two days preceding his death, Constable Quinn continued to report for duty, finally causing the capture of both his escaped prisoner, as well as the tavern owner, William Rees, who beat him on both occasions; and

WHEREAS, Constable Quinn's condition deteriorated resulting in a congestion of the brain, and he finally died from injuries sustained in the line of duty; and

WHEREAS, Following the death of Constable James Quinn, the Chicago Common Council Committee on Police found on December 12, 1853, that "an officer had been recently killed in the discharge of his duty" and the entire Chicago Police Force was ordered to descend on the North Division vice district to rout out crime and "Vindicate the Honor of the Police"; and

WHEREAS, Following the conviction of Constable Quinn's killer, William Rees, the Chicago Common Council awarded his wife, Margaret Quinn, benefits as the result of his death in the line of duty; and

WHEREAS, On February 27, 1854, the Chicago Common Council noted in its official proceedings that Constable "James Quinn was deprived of life and his helpless family bereaved of their sole support and protection under no ordinary circumstances, but in the honest and faithful discharge of his duty as an officer of the city"; and

WHEREAS, The circumstances surrounding the death of Constable James Quinn and the trial and conviction of the perpetrator of his death, William Rees, has been reported with historical documentation in the Chicago Evening Journal, Chicago Republican, Daily Democratic Press, and Chicago Tribune; and

WHEREAS, During the proceedings of the trial against Constable Quinn's assailant, one William Rees, testimony concerning the injuries that caused Constable Quinn's death were substantiated by two well-known Chicago medical persons, Dr. Herrick and Dr. Henrotin; and

WHEREAS, William Rees was convicted of the death of Constable Quinn, as set forth on the one-count indictment, that "James Quinn came to his death from an assault made by William Rees on the second day of December last"; and

WHEREAS, Judge Robert S. Wilson of the Recorder's Court sentenced William Rees to five years in the penitentiary at Alton; and

WHEREAS, The testimony of Constable Quinn's widow moved the members of the Chicago Common Council on February 27, 1854, to recognize Constable Quinn's service and sacrifice to the people of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, On March 6, 1854, the Chicago City Council's Committee on Judiciary concurred favorable with the Widow Quinn's petition authorizing her compensation for her husband's death in the line of duty as a constable; and

WHEREAS, Common sense tells us that the conviction of Rees and this payment to a fallen officer's widow proves a prima facie line of duty death in the case of Constable Quinn and establishes Margaret Quinn as the first Line of Duty death widow in Chicago history; and

WHEREAS, Historical evidence attests that this was the first such payment to a fallen officer's widow in the City of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, One hundred fifty-three years have elapsed since the death in the line of the duty of Constable James Quinn; and

WHEREAS, The addition of substantive historical scholarship and documentation, provided by the research and analysis of former DEA Agent Richard Barrett, has expanded the knowledge and understanding of Constable James Quinn's sacrifice on behalf of the people of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, With the passage of time and the obscuring of memory, the Chicago Police Department has not accorded Constable James Quinn with the official distinction of an officer killed in the line of duty; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage the Chicago Police Department to resolve the accidents of history and accord Constable James Quinn all the rights and honors of a fallen officer killed in the line of duty by listing him in all official records as the first Chicago Policeman killed in the line of duty, and to include a badge representing Constable James Quinn's service in the Honored Star Case at Police Headquarters, and to include his name on the municipal memorial under construction honoring those heroes of Chicago law enforcement; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we encourage the Chicago Police Department to authorize the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial in Washington, D.C., of Constable James Quinn's inclusion in the roll of Chicago Police Officers killed in the line of duty; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Superintendent of Chicago Police, Philip J. Cline, and members of the Chicago Police Department Awards Committee.