SR1687 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1687 LRB098 23274 GRL 62326 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Joseph F. Philipps, who passed away on June 28, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Philipps was born in Mineral Point, Wisconsin and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota; and

WHEREAS, At the age of 16, Joseph Philipps traveled with his brother to Chicago to work for a few months at the Century of Progress World's Fair from 1933 to 1934; in 1937, he returned to Chicago and became an apprentice with Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Local 597, a membership he would maintain for 75 years; and

WHEREAS, Prior to World War II, Joseph Philipps' apprenticeship was interrupted when he enlisted in the United States Army, serving his country in the Aleutian Islands; he was selected for officer candidate school and promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant; he ultimately rose to the rank of major, serving as a battery commander in the Coast Artillery Corps; and

WHEREAS, After the war, Joseph Philipps returned to Chicago, where he completed his apprenticeship with Local 597 and worked for a piping company on a project laying pipes for Standard Oil of Indiana; when the national chapter of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union wanted to create an instructor training program in the early 1950s, he was chosen to serve as apprentice and training coordinator and coordinator of the apprentice contest held at Purdue University in Indiana; he was later assigned to the union's International Training Fund; as administrator of the United Association-National Contractors Association Training Trust Fund, he managed millions of dollars used for training programs; he also served as a field representative for the Training Trust Fund, responsible for a 9-state region in the Midwest; he retired from the trust fund in 1985; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Philipps was the recipient of the Francis X. McCartin Leadership Award for his years of service to the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada in 1986; in 2005, he was honored with the Martin P. Durkin Lifetime Achievement Award for distinguished professionalism and dedication to training in the pipe trades industry and for promoting standards of excellence in craftsmanship; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Philipps is survived by 3 children, Barbara Hartigan, Joe, and Dorothy; 4 grandchildren; and 5 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we, along with his family and friends, mourn the passing of Joseph F. Philipps; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Joseph Philipps as an expression of our sympathy.