SPRINGFIELD – Members of the Illinois Senate on Thursday paid their respects to the esteemed former Senate President Phil Rock, who died Jan. 29 at the age of 78.

The Senate approved a memorial resolution to celebrate Rock’s wisdom and leadership in the Legislature, as well as the lasting impression he left on politics in his district and throughout Illinois.

Rock was an Illinois state senator representing Illinois' 8th District, including Oak Park and parts of Chicago's west side, for 22 years from 1970 until his retirement in 1993. He was president of the Senate for 14 years from 1979 to 1993.

Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) now represents Rock’s former district in the Illinois Senate and sponsored the memorial resolution.

Harmon said that even though most members of the Senate today never had the opportunity to serve with Rock, the former Senate president to this day is remembered for his fairness, his decency and for his fierce advocacy on behalf of his constituents.

“The truth is that for 22 years he prowled this floor with a presence rarely seen, and his accomplishments in this chamber were quite defining,” Harmon said. “Phil Rock served 14 years as Senate president, and I know that when he retired there were many people who wished he would have served longer.”

Senate President John Cullerton is the only current member of the Senate who served with Rock.

“I just wish more of you would have known what a super guy he was,” Cullerton said. “After all these years, I still miss him.”

Rock authored more than 450 laws during his time in the Senate and championed many causes to improve the lives of children, including reforms in special education, child adoption, foster care, domestic violence and child support. He also advanced laws to establish Illinois’ first child abuse and neglect reporting act and mandatory insurance coverage for newborns.

One of his most cherished and signature accomplishments was helping to create the nation’s first public school for individuals who are deaf and blind. That school in Glen Ellyn was renamed the Philip J. Rock Center and School in 1987 in the former senate president’s honor.

Rock is survived by his wife, Sheila; his children, Kathleen Snow, Meghan Simmons, Colleen Mueller and John J. “Jay” Rock; and 12 grandchildren.