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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Max
4 Jordan Chiswick, who passed away in Tel Aviv, Israel on
5 January 7, 2025; and
6 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick was born in London, England on
7 December 1, 1985; he moved with his family to Buffalo Grove
8 when he was one year old; he graduated from Adlai E. Stevenson
9 High School in Lincolnshire; he earned a bachelor's degree in
10 electrical engineering from Northwestern University and a
11 master's degree in electrical engineering at the
12 Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel; and
13 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick was a renowned professional poker
14 player; he was one of the most successful mid-stakes No-limit
15 Texas Hold'em players in the world from 2008 to 2012; he
16 completed a challenge to play three million hands of poker in a
17 single year, including playing 990,000 hands of poker during
18 the month of December 2009, a world record for hands of poker
19 played in a single month that is believed to still stand today;
20 and
21 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick traveled the world; he visited 76
22 countries and had a particular fondness for the African
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1 continent, which he visited 12 times, including a two month
2 stay at the Sangha Lodge on the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve
3 in the Central African Republic; he biked the length of Africa
4 from Cairo to Cape Town on the Tour d'Afrique; he hiked
5 Annapurna in Nepal and the length of Israel on the Israel
6 Trail; and
7 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick proudly carried his Judaism
8 throughout his travels; he found community and comfort in the
9 global network of Chabad-Lubavitch centers that became his
10 spiritual anchors around the world; he visited at least 36
11 Chabad centers across the globe, a number he meticulously
12 tracked on a website he built called chabad.earth; he made a
13 commitment to wear tefillin regularly after the October 7,
14 2023, terror attack; and
15 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick was a prolific collector of
16 meaningful mementos and artwork, especially those created by
17 lesser-known artists with disabilities and that depicted the
18 distinguished physicist Albert Einstein, Judaica, the African
19 continent, internet poker brands, and carrots, a vegetable
20 that he consumed so much of that his skin occasionally turned
21 orange and that he described as "the perfect snack...maybe too
22 perfect"; and
23 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick established various websites to
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1 document his eclectic interests, including hoteleggs.com,
2 which rated eggs that he consumed at hotels and other
3 lodgings, rotisserieride.com, which documented his planned
4 bicycle ride from Los Angeles to New York City during which he
5 would consume rotisserie chicken each day, overbet.ai, which
6 hosted ideas at the intersection of artificial intelligence
7 and game strategy, and 40k.earth, which allowed users to build
8 their own travel maps and compare with friends; and
9 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick established the Expected Value
10 Foundation, which helps people explore the concept of expected
11 value in fun and practical ways; he founded Poker Camp, a
12 program to teach artificial intelligence and better reasoning
13 through poker that conducted several events in New York City
14 and San Francisco; he co-founded the Artificial Intelligence
15 Safety Awareness Foundation, a volunteer organization
16 dedicated to educating the public about the benefits and risks
17 of modern artificial intelligence; he taught an expected value
18 workshop at Ecole les Hirondelles Mermoz in Dakar, Senagal
19 during December 2024; and
20 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick had a unique and uncanny ability to
21 make and maintain friendships; upon his death, tributes and
22 remembrances poured in from across the globe by people who had
23 the good fortune of crossing his path on this earth; and
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1 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick's memory will be a blessing for the
2 innumerable souls that had the privilege of being touched by
3 the presence of a special, uncommon man; and
4 WHEREAS, Max Chiswick is survived by his parents, Peter
5 and Ellen; his sister, Lisa; and countless friends in all
6 corners of the world; therefore, be it
7 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
8 HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
9 we mourn the passing of Max Jordan Chiswick and extend our
10 sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew
11 and loved him; and be it further
12 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13 presented to the family of Max Chiswick as an expression of our
14 deepest sympathy.
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