Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) issued the following statement today about former Illinois Senate President Phil Rock, who has died at age 78.

“Phil Rock is a giant in Illinois politics. His ability to get things done and his unerring sense of fairness should be the standard to which all of us in politics hold ourselves,” Harmon said. “I will always be grateful for his kindness, his decency and his sense of duty to encourage young people to engage in politics. He devoted his public life to make Illinois a better and more humane place for all of us, and he succeeded.”

Rock was an Illinois state senator representing Illinois' 8th District, including Oak Park and parts of Chicago's west side, from 1970 until his retirement in 1993. He was president of the Illinois Senate from 1979 to 1993.