The U.S. Senate has passed a measure to rename the Veterans Affairs health clinic in Galesburg after Lane Evans, the longtime Rock Island congressman who died last month.
Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., praised Evans in announcing the Senate’s action Thursday.
“The best way we can honor the memory of Lane Evans is to continue his work on behalf of Americas veterans, Durbin said in a statement. Given his lifetime of service, it is a fitting tribute to remember our great champion of veterans by naming the VA medical center in Galesburg, Illinois in Lane Evans honor.
“As a veteran, Lane Evans saw firsthand the need for better community-based care for our nation’s servicemen and women, Kirk said in a statement. Renaming the Galesburg facility in his honor will serve as a fitting tribute to a man who spent more than two decades giving a voice to veterans throughout Illinois and the nation.
The House still must pass a similar measure for the facility to be renamed the “Lane A. Evans VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic.”
Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., introduced the House version of the legislation. Her office said Thursday that it could come up for a vote next week.
Evans was 63 when he died Nov. 5 after a 20-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
A Marine Corps veteran, he represented the 17th Congressional District from 1983 to 2007, and he made his mark with his advocacy for veterans, particularly pushing for compensation for veterans affected by the use of Agent Orange.
For several years, he also was the top-ranking Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
