SR0087LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r SR0087 LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
SR0087 LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3 to learn of the death of James Bottomley "Jim" Bleyer, who
4 passed away on January 6, 2025; and
5 WHEREAS, Jim Bleyer was born to Albert and Margaret
6 (Tregoning) Bleyer on on October 5, 1928; he graduated from
7 Carterville High School in 1946; he enlisted in the U.S. Army
8 and served during the immediate aftermath of World War II; he
9 attended Southern Illinois University, graduating in three
10 years; he attended law school at Notre Dame, where he was
11 awarded the Hoynes Prize, given to the graduating law class
12 member who has the best record in scholarship, application,
13 deportment, and achievement; and
14 WHEREAS, Jim Bleyer began his legal career in 1954 at the
15 law firm of Franklin and Garrison, leaving in 1966 to pursue
16 the law as a sole practitioner; in 1976, he was inducted as a
17 Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, an exclusive
18 national organization comprised of lawyers with exceptional
19 courtroom acumen; and
20 WHEREAS, Jim Bleyer formed Bleyer and Bleyer in 1984 with
21 his nephew, Brad; later, his children, Joe and Mary Margaret,
22 along with his nephew, Rocky, and his great-nephew, Jonathan,
SR0087 LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
SR0087- 2 -LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r SR0087 - 2 - LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
SR0087 - 2 - LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
1 all worked at the firm; his granddaughter, Jennifer, worked at
2 the firm while in law school; and
3 WHEREAS, Jim Bleyer was on the Character and Fitness
4 Committee for the Illinois Supreme Court and enjoyed years of
5 interviewing young attorneys prior to their admission to the
6 bar; he continued practicing law and trying cases until age 92
7 and was an active member of the Illinois Bar; during his
8 70-year career, he earned the highest recognition possible in
9 the legal field for his professionalism and ethics and had a
10 lasting impact on the law, having argued several seminal cases
11 before the Illinois Supreme Court; and
12 WHEREAS, Jim Bleyer received the Illinois State Bar
13 Association Laureate Award, the highest award honoring those
14 deemed to exemplify the highest ideals of the profession; and
15 WHEREAS, Jim Bleyer was a proud member of St. Joseph's
16 Catholic Church and served as a trustee; he was a charter
17 member of the Knights of Columbus in Marion; he was awarded the
18 Marion Area Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award in
19 2007; and
20 WHEREAS, Jim Bleyer's most ardent love, aside from his
21 family, was the University of Notre Dame, especially its
22 sports; and
SR0087 - 2 - LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
SR0087- 3 -LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r SR0087 - 3 - LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
SR0087 - 3 - LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
1 WHEREAS, Jim Bleyer was preceded in death by his wife of 57
2 years, Eileen; his daughter, Teresa; his parents; and his
3 brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephews, Bill and Dorothy
4 (Rushing) Bleyer and son, Eric, Frank and Lita (LeVan) and
5 son, Tony, and Tom, Tom's son, David, and wife, O'Mira; and
6 WHEREAS, Jim Bleyer is survived by his children, Mary
7 Margaret (the Honorable John H.) Foradora, John Cavanaugh
8 (Susan) Bleyer, Joseph Albert (Stacy) Bleyer, Anna Marie (Eric
9 S.) Vogel, and James Robert (Heidi) Bleyer; his grandchildren,
10 Jennifer Marie (Dan) Schroeder, Eric S. (Kaitlin) Vogel Jr.,
11 Margaret Erin Vogel, Kathleen Teresa Vogel, Joseph James
12 Bleyer, Michael D. Bleyer, Margaret Teresa Bleyer, Mason James
13 Bleyer, Elena Kate Bleyer, James Henry Foradora, and Abigail
14 Margaret Bleyer; his great-grandchildren, Stella Elizabeth,
15 Michael Stephen, and Luke James Vogel and Frank Albert and
16 Thomas James Schroeder; and numerous nieces and nephews;
17 therefore, be it
18 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL
19 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
20 James Bottomley "Jim" Bleyer and extend our sincere
21 condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
22 him; and be it further
SR0087 - 3 - LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
SR0087- 4 -LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r SR0087 - 4 - LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
SR0087 - 4 - LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r
SR0087 - 4 - LRB104 11897 MST 21988 r