Illinois officials honored by history association for regret

SPRINGFIELD, ILL. — Five years ago, Illinois passed a resolution formally expressing regret for the persecution of Mormons and their 1846 expulsion from the state. On May 22, the Mormon History Association honored two state officials who helped get the measure passed.

Justice Anne M. Burke of the Illinois Supreme Court's first district and her brother-in-law, Rep. Daniel J. Burke of the state General Assembly, received the Thomas L. Kane Award for outstanding service to Mormon History by a non-Mormon. The presentation was made at the association's awards banquet, part of its 44th annual conference meeting this year in Springfield.

Kane was an influential public figure who championed the Latter-day Saints during the presidency of Brigham Young and who helped negotiate a standoff between the Mormons in Utah and the federal government after a military force was sent to the territory in 1857 to quell a supposed rebellion.

In making the presentation, Kathryn M. Daynes, president of the association, said the resolution came about when Justice Burke was on a skiing trip in Utah. There she met with then-Gov. Olene Walker and her husband, Myron, who told her his ancestors, Mormons, were driven from Illinois in 1846.

It was the first time Justice Burke had heard of that turbulent period in LDS Church history. At her suggestion, Rep. Burke introduced the resolution in the Illinois House of Representatives, where it passed unanimously.

In her acceptance, Justice Burke said, "Remembering the past gives power to the present. That certainly has been true for us. Your friendship is proof of that."

She said, "Perhaps our most memorable moment in travels to Utah came when we were received by the late President Gordon B. Hinckley several years ago and placed in his hands the instrument of regret from the Illinois General Assembly. I can tell you that the forces of history were palpable at that moment. It was a powerful expression of grace. Today it remains a memory we will always keep close to our hearts."

She added, "You do us great honor here in the neighborhood where Abraham Lincoln's heart felt most at home. The wise savior of the Union would, of course, see the wisdom so profoundly at work here this evening. The 16th president would be pleased at our American harmony."

Rep. Burke said that of all the legislative involvement he has had over the past 19 years, "this initiative has been the one to attract the most attention, and, I must say, in a very loving fashion. I received communications from people all over the globe with respect to this resolution."

He quoted Lincoln as saying, "History is not history unless it's the truth."

"The truth of history must be told," Rep. Burke said, "and nowhere was that more patently necessary than in the saga of the lives of Mormon people here in Illinois."

He added, "We cannot alter the past, but the truth can help us live with more honor and more humanity in the present. I hope that we have helped achieve that for the descendants of that cruel and heartbreaking exile and journey."

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