The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO NEIL HEINEN” mentioning Tammy Baldwin was published in the Senate section on page S194 on Jan. 28.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO NEIL HEINEN
Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, today I rise to honor Neil Heinen, editorial director for WISC-TV and Madison Magazine, on his retirement. Throughout his remarkable career, Neil has been steadfast in his commitment to fair and honest reporting, clear-headed editorials and fascinating stories about the community he loves.
Born in Milwaukee, WI as the oldest of 11 children, Neil first attended St. Norbert College in Green Bay in 1969. He dropped out to spend 4 years working in a mental hospital, where he said he received his real education. He worked as a bartender and actor in Madison before deciding to study journalism at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison. He began his career at WIBA radio station, spending 10 years on the air before joining the team at WISC-TV News as a news assignment editor.
It was there that Neil worked with longtime station manager Tom Bier to create an editorial director job just as most stations were eliminating their editorial departments. Neil delivered more than 7,400 on-air editorials since he first conveyed the station's views in April of 1992. He also hosted a Sunday morning public affairs program, ``For the Record,'' that ran 1,500 episodes over 30 years.
Perhaps Neil's greatest legacy is his leadership in guiding the growth and creativity of Madison Magazine, which won countless awards for providing its nearly 170,000 readers with interesting coverage of local people, entertainment, and issues. Neil's contributions included monthly columns on issues of importance to Madisonians and a monthly food column he coauthored with his wife, Nancy Christy. Madison readers particularly enjoyed his cover stories focused on leadership and visions for Madison's future.
Neil has been a familiar and trusted voice in many of Madison's most important events and controversial issues for the past 30 years. He is known for his support of major community projects such as the Monona Terrace Convention Center, the UW-Madison Kohl Center and Overture Center for the Arts. He helped launch We the People/Wisconsin, one of the most successful civic journalism projects in the country in the 1990s, and worked to start Schools of Hope, an initiative to help close the achievement gap in Madison schools.
While Neil's last day of work was this past September 15, I know he will remain active in the community for many years to come, lending his voice to complex community conversations and championing causes that bring us together. I will be forever grateful for Neil's commitment to the Madison community and for offering his wise perspective in critical times.
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