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2023 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 119
February 19, 2024 - Introduced by Senators PFAFF, ROYS, CARPENTER, SPREITZER,
BALLWEG, L. JOHNSON, WIRCH and SMITH, cosponsored by Representatives
GOYKE, C. ANDERSON, J. ANDERSON, ANDRACA, BALDEH, BARE, CONLEY,
CONSIDINE, DITTRICH, DOYLE, DRAKE, EMERSON, HONG, JACOBSON, JOERS,
MADISON, MYERS, NEUBAUER, NOVAK, ORTIZ-VELEZ, RATCLIFF, SHANKLAND,
SHELTON, SINICKI, SNODGRASS, SPIROS, STUBBS, SUBECK, TRANEL and VINING.
Referred to Committee on Senate Organization.
1 Relating to: honoring the life and legacy of the late Senator Herb Kohl.
2 Whereas, Herb Kohl grew up in the Sherman Park neighborhood of Milwaukee,
3 Wisconsin; and
4 Whereas, Herb Kohl earned a bachelor's degree from the University of
5 Wisconsin, which is now home to the basketball and hockey center that bears his
6 name as well as the Herb Kohl Public Service Research Competition to advance
7 evidence-based policy and governance research by faculty members and students,
8 which were supported through his gifts to the university; and
9 Whereas, as president of the Kohl's Corporation, Herb Kohl followed in his
10 father's footsteps and built with his brothers a chain of over 50 Kohl's grocery stores
11 across the Midwest; and
12 Whereas, when the Milwaukee Bucks were put up for sale and in danger of
13 being bought and moved to another city, Herb Kohl stepped forward in 1985 and
14 bought the team with the promise to Bucks fans that the team would never leave—a
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1 promise he fulfilled when the time came to sell the team in 2014, donating
2 $100,000,000 to help build a new arena for the community; and
3 Whereas, in 1990, Herb Kohl started the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation,
4 which has provided more than $34,000,000 in grants and scholarships to Wisconsin
5 students, teachers, and schools; and
6 Whereas, Herb Kohl answered a call to public service in 1988 and ran for the
7 U.S. Senate, with a commitment to being “nobody's senator but yours” and working
8 across party lines for the people of the state he loved; and
9 Whereas, Herb Kohl served Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate for 24 years, bringing
10 his business experience to his senate office and treating his more than 5,000,000
11 Wisconsin constituents as his customers; and
12 Whereas, Herb Kohl championed issues important for the people of Wisconsin,
13 fighting every day for dairy farmers, working to protect kids from the threat of gun
14 violence, helping seniors secure and keep high-quality health care, and supporting
15 education at all levels, from early childhood through adults attending technical
16 colleges and universities; and
17 Whereas, throughout his senate tenure, Herb Kohl championed initiatives to
18 get individuals, families, and communities the health insurance and care they
19 needed, focusing on the most vulnerable—children and seniors—and the most
20 difficult to reach—rural communities; and
21 Whereas, Herb Kohl's office assisted Wisconsinites through individual
22 casework for more than two decades, earning a reputation as having one of the best
23 customer service operations in the U.S. Senate; and
24 Whereas, Herb Kohl touched an incalculable number of lives and showed an
25 innate modesty and humility rare in politics and business; and
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1 Whereas, on December 27, 2023, at the age of 88, Herb Kohl died, leaving
2 behind a legacy of dedication and service to the people of Wisconsin; now, therefore,
3 be it
4 Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the members of the
5 Wisconsin Legislature honor the life, dedication to the people of Wisconsin, and
6 public service of Senator Herb Kohl and extend their condolences to his family and
7 friends.
8 (END)