Tuesday, December 19, 2006
"Always Faithful"
I read a newspaper article that is Lane Evan's goodbye to the individuals he represented. - Letter from Lane
I thought I'd re-post Lane's farewell here because I found it quite moving, and I'd like to add a thoughtful comment or two of my own.
Here's the text of Lane's letter (to be followed by my own comments):
Lane Evans was the first politician I ever met that I actually liked.
I first had the privilege of sitting down directly across the table from Lane for a pizza lunch with the Congressman and a few members of his staff early in my career with Citizen Action, back about 1989. I walked away from that lunch very impressed. Lane was a real person, not a plastic politician, and Lane stood for some real ideals.
Since my Citizen Action office adjoined Lane's campaign office in those days, there's a part of me that feels like I was there with Lane and his staff for what I consider to be the height of Congressman Evan's career as a legislator. Phil Hare used my backroom for many private meetings to plot strategy, and Don Johnston used the space doing mailings for Senator Paul Simon as well as Lane.
I am proud to say that I helped with GOTV efforts for Lane's election efforts in '90, '92, '94, and '96 while with Citizen Action. Not only did I lead a rag-tag bunch of fifteen or twenty activists going door-to-door, I also convinced my wife and my father to spend election day as part of the door-to-door army that helped re-elect Lane in those elections.
I know Phil Hare will carry on in Lane’s tradition, and I expect he will be another great Congressperson for the 17th District. Becky Hare, Phil’s wife, was the office manager for the local Citizen Action office when I worked there as a canvasser, and for a short period of time I even rented a house that had belonged to Phil's Mother. So, I actually know Phil better than I ever knew Congressman Evans. But, it still feels bittersweet, it feels very much like the end of an era now that Lane is retiring.
I have no doubt that the transition will not always be easy, but please enjoy your retirement Congressman Evans, it’s well deserved. Rest easy knowing you've made a real difference and have inspired many other's to do likewise.
Thank you Congressman Evans for providing inspiration to myself and to many other activists. I believe your office "set the standard" that we also try to uphold in serving our constituents at Representative Mike Boland's office, so I owe you and your staff a personal debt for showing me the meaning and importance of public service.
In my Rock Island Citizen Action office, we always said we were lucky to have Lane Evans as our Congressman, because we could always count on Lane to vote based on principle, we knew he'd do what was right for ordinary people. Semper fidelis translates to mean "always faithful", and I believe that's a very fitting motto for a politician as well as a Marine.
I thought I'd re-post Lane's farewell here because I found it quite moving, and I'd like to add a thoughtful comment or two of my own.
Here's the text of Lane's letter (to be followed by my own comments):
Cong. Lane Evans says farewell to constitutents
Published: Monday, December 18, 2006 10:46 AM CST
Congressman Lane Evans has issued a statement regarding his retirement from Congress at the end of the current term. The statement follows:
"It's never easy to say goodbye. This part of my life is ending and in just a couple of weeks I'll be entering a new phase.
"I think you know how much this job has meant to me and how much I've enjoyed it. Being the representative of this area has provided me with the greatest opportunity I could ever want -- the ability to serve people and make a positive difference in their lives.
"I wouldn't trade the last 24 years for anything. These have been the best of times for me.
"I want to thank my constituents. You are this country's strength and spirit and have continually spurred me on in my work. I first ran for Congress to be your voice -- to speak up for the average citizens of this country who weren't being listened to and to fight for your interests: for affordable health care, for good jobs at good wages, for fair trade, for a brighter future that allows every person to achieve the American Dream.
"I thank my parents who taught me the value of public service. They helped save lives and have inspired me every day. I thank great friends and colleagues and a dedicated staff. I thank everyone who has worked with me in the fights we have made -- and won.
"I am especially proud of the fight we won to deliver benefits and services to Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Let us never forget the sacrifices of those who serve our country. Later we won passage of law that delivers health and compensation benefits to children of vets exposed to Agent Orange who were born with spina bifida, a crippling birth defect.
"I'm also proud of my efforts to expand services for women veterans, for vets who came home suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the thousands of veterans who don't have a home. Here in the district we brought home new services -- outpatient clinics and Vet Centers which mean so much to our vets.
"When I became Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs in 1997, it gave me the ability to do even more for vets. We've accomplished a great deal over the last decade. We have to continue to serve our veterans and our men and women overseas who will come home with the injuries of war. We can never leave anyone behind.
"I'm also proud of my work to ban the use of antipersonnel landmines that maim and injure thousands of our troops and innocent civilians every year. Working with Sen. Patrick Leahy, we made enormous strides in ridding the world of the scourge of landmines.
"When I was diagnosed with Parkinson's, I said I wanted to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. I think my efforts in support of stem cell research have helped change minds. I hope the new Congress can go even further and fund the research that can create cures and turn possibility into reality.
"I think we made great progress throughout the years in strengthening the Rock Island Arsenal so the Island will continue to be an anchor of economic opportunity and progress. It is an essential part of our national defense.
"I've always been proud of our constituent service work. Our door has always been open. From helping citizens with individual problems, to winning a grant that turned a roadblock into a building block, we have always worked to reach out and help out every part of our community.
"What has been most rewarding is not only seeing the results of our work, but hearing from constituents about how much they appreciate it.
"It's also gratifying to me to know that this district will be in capable and good hands and the work we started will continue through Phil Hare.
"I've always said how important it is for people to be involved, to speak up and take part in what is happening in the world. I'm going to follow my own advice and do just that.
"So, I guess that isn't really goodbye. Because I'm not looking back. I'm looking ahead to the next years.
"As long as I have been the representative of this district, the seniors who built this country, the veterans who defended it, and the working families, small business people, and family farmers who support it day in and day out haven't stood alone because I've been there standing up and fighting for you.
"To every one I have been proud to serve and work with, I look forward to seeing you soon.
Semper Fi.”
- Cong. Lane Evans
Lane Evans was the first politician I ever met that I actually liked.
I first had the privilege of sitting down directly across the table from Lane for a pizza lunch with the Congressman and a few members of his staff early in my career with Citizen Action, back about 1989. I walked away from that lunch very impressed. Lane was a real person, not a plastic politician, and Lane stood for some real ideals.
Since my Citizen Action office adjoined Lane's campaign office in those days, there's a part of me that feels like I was there with Lane and his staff for what I consider to be the height of Congressman Evan's career as a legislator. Phil Hare used my backroom for many private meetings to plot strategy, and Don Johnston used the space doing mailings for Senator Paul Simon as well as Lane.
I am proud to say that I helped with GOTV efforts for Lane's election efforts in '90, '92, '94, and '96 while with Citizen Action. Not only did I lead a rag-tag bunch of fifteen or twenty activists going door-to-door, I also convinced my wife and my father to spend election day as part of the door-to-door army that helped re-elect Lane in those elections.
I know Phil Hare will carry on in Lane’s tradition, and I expect he will be another great Congressperson for the 17th District. Becky Hare, Phil’s wife, was the office manager for the local Citizen Action office when I worked there as a canvasser, and for a short period of time I even rented a house that had belonged to Phil's Mother. So, I actually know Phil better than I ever knew Congressman Evans. But, it still feels bittersweet, it feels very much like the end of an era now that Lane is retiring.
I have no doubt that the transition will not always be easy, but please enjoy your retirement Congressman Evans, it’s well deserved. Rest easy knowing you've made a real difference and have inspired many other's to do likewise.
Thank you Congressman Evans for providing inspiration to myself and to many other activists. I believe your office "set the standard" that we also try to uphold in serving our constituents at Representative Mike Boland's office, so I owe you and your staff a personal debt for showing me the meaning and importance of public service.
In my Rock Island Citizen Action office, we always said we were lucky to have Lane Evans as our Congressman, because we could always count on Lane to vote based on principle, we knew he'd do what was right for ordinary people. Semper fidelis translates to mean "always faithful", and I believe that's a very fitting motto for a politician as well as a Marine.
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Chicago Tribune's Article on Lane's Retirement
`I just wish I had a little more time'
Just as his issues reach the forefront, a veteran congressman steps down because of Parkinson's
By Christi Parsons
Tribune national correspondent
Published January 1, 2007
MOLINE, Ill. -- If desire and experience were the only requirements, Rep. Lane Evans would be preparing to join fellow Democrats in their January takeover of Congress, where he would likely serve as a committee chairman and a seasoned advocate for military personnel.
But a decade of fighting Parkinson's disease has taken its toll on the 55-year-old congressman from Rock Island, and he is instead spending the holidays shutting down his offices and attending going-away parties. His health means he can't continue his 24-year congressional career, in which the former Marine has been an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq and a spokesman for fellow veterans.
"I think it's too bad that I couldn't do more," Evans said in an interview. "If I only had a little more time, I could do more than I've been able to. I just wish I had a little more time."
Evans surely would have been a key spokesman in favor of stem cell research, as funding and other support are increasingly the focus of public debate. The issue played an important role in the recent midterm elections, in which actor Michael J. Fox used the spotlight on his struggle with Parkinson's to advocate for increased research.
It's a sadly ironic turn for the Vietnam-era veteran and legal aid lawyer first elected to Congress in 1982. At a time when friends say he would have been a unique voice among ascendant congressional Democrats, his disease has made it difficult for him to speak at all.
His voice is steady but soft, strongest in the mornings and weaker as the day wears on. He was absent when Congress was in session for most of the last year.
"It breaks my heart that his public career ended because of this illness," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a close friend of Evans' who was elected to the House with him two dozen years ago. "This is one of the cruelest diseases, particularly for a young man with Lane's values and potential. At this moment in time, he should be writing new chapters on the issues he cares about."
`Window is now closing'
Instead, Evans is turning over his seat to his longtime aide and friend, Phil Hare, a Democrat who won in November and will take office later this month.
Evans announced his retirement in March, eight years after he made public that he had Parkinson's disease. His doctor had told him then that his condition would not interfere with his work for many years, but last spring Evans announced that the "window is now closing."
"It's bittersweet, because we still have work to do and I won't be part of it as I have been," Evans said. "I'm worried that what's going on in the war is going to hurt those veterans more than anything they've been through in their lives. The president is saying we should add new troops, but we'll be working with grass-roots-level activists in trying to get out of this war."
Evans was a volunteer Marine during Vietnam, enlisting less than two weeks after graduating from Alleman High School in Rock Island. He served from 1969 to 1971 and was based stateside and in Okinawa, Japan. He later attended college and law school at Georgetown University, then worked as a legal aid lawyer before launching his political career.
No one thought his campaign for Congress would succeed, but he staged an upset after Rep. Tom Railsback, a moderate Republican instrumental in the resignation of President Richard Nixon, lost in the GOP primary to a conservative.
During his time in the House, Evans was a champion of veterans, serving as chairman of the Vietnam-era veterans' congressional caucus and working to get compensation for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. He was one of the first members of Congress to push for more information about maladies suffered by veterans of the Persian Gulf war.
Recently, he teamed with the Republican chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee to pump up economic and other assistance for homeless veterans, to increase worker training for former military personnel and to expand home loans from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Evans also made his name in recent years as an early opponent of the war in Iraq. He displayed a portrait of singer John Lennon in his Washington office because, he said, he found Lennon's commitment to progressive ideals inspiring.
Personal causes
Sometimes his personal causes angered constituents. When Evans stepped down from the House Agriculture Committee for a chance to join the Armed Services Committee, for instance, local agribusiness leaders were unhappy. Evans says that the other committee was "where my heart was."
Despite the moderate to conservative social views of many of his constituents, Evans staunchly supported gun control legislation, opposed a change in the Constitution to ban flag burning and defended the rights of gays and women in the military.
Hare recalls that some friends advised him not to be so upfront on some of those issues. But he said, "Lane never backed away from people if he believed in their merits."
Evans' status as a veteran gave him a lot of credibility with voters, local political leaders say. For a while in the 1980s, Evans was one of the members of Congress who consistently voted against the agenda of President Ronald Reagan, who was born in northwestern Illinois.
If some locals disliked that, others applauded it.
"I'm proud of that," Evans said. "My mother couldn't get over that I would vote with Ronald Reagan 8 percent of the time."
Evans won re-election time and again despite difficult races. But at a Labor Day parade in the mid-1990s, Evans realized he couldn't raise his hand to wave. In 1998, he announced he had Parkinson's, which made it difficult for him to stand without pain or to smile easily.
"But he could still fight," Durbin recalled.
The disease slowed him down bit by bit, and last February Evans stopped appearing for votes on the House floor. He is the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and likely would have become chairman if he had stayed in office.
"The timing is unfortunate," said Hare, "but he doesn't complain about it."
In fact, said Hare, Evans is so routinely upbeat about his health that, after a piece of bad news from a doctor about his condition, Evans barely paused before asking what was for lunch.
"`Do you understand what I just told you?' the doctor said," recounted Hare. "Lane said, `Yes. But I still get to have lunch, right?'"
Local Democrats predict Evans will still be influential in the district.
"He made a lot of friends, by going to events and staying until he had answered every single question," said state Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-East Moline). "He'd go to a party for 10 people, and talk to that group of 10 like it was a group of a thousand. ... They're not going to name a building after him; he's not that kind of politician. His legacy is something more inspiring."
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`I just wish I had a little more time'
Just as his issues reach the forefront, a veteran congressman steps down because of Parkinson's
By Christi Parsons
Tribune national correspondent
Published January 1, 2007
MOLINE, Ill. -- If desire and experience were the only requirements, Rep. Lane Evans would be preparing to join fellow Democrats in their January takeover of Congress, where he would likely serve as a committee chairman and a seasoned advocate for military personnel.
But a decade of fighting Parkinson's disease has taken its toll on the 55-year-old congressman from Rock Island, and he is instead spending the holidays shutting down his offices and attending going-away parties. His health means he can't continue his 24-year congressional career, in which the former Marine has been an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq and a spokesman for fellow veterans.
"I think it's too bad that I couldn't do more," Evans said in an interview. "If I only had a little more time, I could do more than I've been able to. I just wish I had a little more time."
Evans surely would have been a key spokesman in favor of stem cell research, as funding and other support are increasingly the focus of public debate. The issue played an important role in the recent midterm elections, in which actor Michael J. Fox used the spotlight on his struggle with Parkinson's to advocate for increased research.
It's a sadly ironic turn for the Vietnam-era veteran and legal aid lawyer first elected to Congress in 1982. At a time when friends say he would have been a unique voice among ascendant congressional Democrats, his disease has made it difficult for him to speak at all.
His voice is steady but soft, strongest in the mornings and weaker as the day wears on. He was absent when Congress was in session for most of the last year.
"It breaks my heart that his public career ended because of this illness," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a close friend of Evans' who was elected to the House with him two dozen years ago. "This is one of the cruelest diseases, particularly for a young man with Lane's values and potential. At this moment in time, he should be writing new chapters on the issues he cares about."
`Window is now closing'
Instead, Evans is turning over his seat to his longtime aide and friend, Phil Hare, a Democrat who won in November and will take office later this month.
Evans announced his retirement in March, eight years after he made public that he had Parkinson's disease. His doctor had told him then that his condition would not interfere with his work for many years, but last spring Evans announced that the "window is now closing."
"It's bittersweet, because we still have work to do and I won't be part of it as I have been," Evans said. "I'm worried that what's going on in the war is going to hurt those veterans more than anything they've been through in their lives. The president is saying we should add new troops, but we'll be working with grass-roots-level activists in trying to get out of this war."
Evans was a volunteer Marine during Vietnam, enlisting less than two weeks after graduating from Alleman High School in Rock Island. He served from 1969 to 1971 and was based stateside and in Okinawa, Japan. He later attended college and law school at Georgetown University, then worked as a legal aid lawyer before launching his political career.
No one thought his campaign for Congress would succeed, but he staged an upset after Rep. Tom Railsback, a moderate Republican instrumental in the resignation of President Richard Nixon, lost in the GOP primary to a conservative.
During his time in the House, Evans was a champion of veterans, serving as chairman of the Vietnam-era veterans' congressional caucus and working to get compensation for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. He was one of the first members of Congress to push for more information about maladies suffered by veterans of the Persian Gulf war.
Recently, he teamed with the Republican chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee to pump up economic and other assistance for homeless veterans, to increase worker training for former military personnel and to expand home loans from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Evans also made his name in recent years as an early opponent of the war in Iraq. He displayed a portrait of singer John Lennon in his Washington office because, he said, he found Lennon's commitment to progressive ideals inspiring.
Personal causes
Sometimes his personal causes angered constituents. When Evans stepped down from the House Agriculture Committee for a chance to join the Armed Services Committee, for instance, local agribusiness leaders were unhappy. Evans says that the other committee was "where my heart was."
Despite the moderate to conservative social views of many of his constituents, Evans staunchly supported gun control legislation, opposed a change in the Constitution to ban flag burning and defended the rights of gays and women in the military.
Hare recalls that some friends advised him not to be so upfront on some of those issues. But he said, "Lane never backed away from people if he believed in their merits."
Evans' status as a veteran gave him a lot of credibility with voters, local political leaders say. For a while in the 1980s, Evans was one of the members of Congress who consistently voted against the agenda of President Ronald Reagan, who was born in northwestern Illinois.
If some locals disliked that, others applauded it.
"I'm proud of that," Evans said. "My mother couldn't get over that I would vote with Ronald Reagan 8 percent of the time."
Evans won re-election time and again despite difficult races. But at a Labor Day parade in the mid-1990s, Evans realized he couldn't raise his hand to wave. In 1998, he announced he had Parkinson's, which made it difficult for him to stand without pain or to smile easily.
"But he could still fight," Durbin recalled.
The disease slowed him down bit by bit, and last February Evans stopped appearing for votes on the House floor. He is the ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and likely would have become chairman if he had stayed in office.
"The timing is unfortunate," said Hare, "but he doesn't complain about it."
In fact, said Hare, Evans is so routinely upbeat about his health that, after a piece of bad news from a doctor about his condition, Evans barely paused before asking what was for lunch.
"`Do you understand what I just told you?' the doctor said," recounted Hare. "Lane said, `Yes. But I still get to have lunch, right?'"
Local Democrats predict Evans will still be influential in the district.
"He made a lot of friends, by going to events and staying until he had answered every single question," said state Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-East Moline). "He'd go to a party for 10 people, and talk to that group of 10 like it was a group of a thousand. ... They're not going to name a building after him; he's not that kind of politician. His legacy is something more inspiring."
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