Bill Text: IL HR0924 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of John McNamara.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-01-08 - Resolution Adopted [HR0924 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HR0924-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former | ||||||
| 4 | Mayor John F. McNamara of Rockford, who passed away on | ||||||
| 5 | September 30, 2020; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, John McNamara was born to John I. and Marian | ||||||
| 7 | McNamara on August 27, 1939; he graduated from Notre Dame in | ||||||
| 8 | 1961 and received his law degree from the University of | ||||||
| 9 | Michigan in 1964; he served in the U.S. Army from 1964 until | ||||||
| 10 | 1966 during which he did a tour in Saigon as a captain in Army | ||||||
| 11 | intelligence and earned a Bronze Star; he married his wife | ||||||
| 12 | Barbara in 1965; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, After his service, John McNamara and his wife | ||||||
| 14 | moved to Rockford; there, he worked as a public defender before | ||||||
| 15 | going into private practice, first as a partner in the firm of | ||||||
| 16 | King & McNamara and later with O'Brien, Healy, Wade, Abate, | ||||||
| 17 | McNamara, & Gorman; later in life, he worked at William Charles | ||||||
| 18 | Investments and then served as the Vice President for | ||||||
| 19 | Institutional Advancement at Rockford University, helping the | ||||||
| 20 | institution through its own challenging financial times until | ||||||
| 21 | retiring in 2016; and
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| 22 | WHEREAS, In 1974, John McNamara was appointed to fill the | ||||||
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| 1 | vacant 3rd Ward alderman seat by then Rockford Mayor Robert | ||||||
| 2 | McGaw; he was then elected to the position in 1975 and served | ||||||
| 3 | until 1979; he then served two terms as Mayor of Rockford from | ||||||
| 4 | 1981 until 1989, leading the city past a severe depression with | ||||||
| 5 | relentless optimism and aggressive leadership; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, John McNamara supported his son Tom as he sought | ||||||
| 7 | elected office, first as he won election to the seat of 3rd | ||||||
| 8 | Ward alderman and in his position as the current mayor of | ||||||
| 9 | Rockford; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, John McNamara was preceded in death by his loving | ||||||
| 11 | parents; his sisters, Maureen Faulkner and Tess Syron; and his | ||||||
| 12 | parents-in-law, Verl and Katherine Runkle; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, John McNamara is survived by his beloved wife, | ||||||
| 14 | Barbara; his children, John (Mary Maguire) McNamara, Kate | ||||||
| 15 | (Terry) Bourbeau, Dan (Sarah Bursley) McNamara, Mary (Ben | ||||||
| 16 | Bernsten) McNamara Bernsten, Nell (Cameron McLaughlin) | ||||||
| 17 | McNamara, and Thomas (Sarah Reed) McNamara; and his 16 | ||||||
| 18 | grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 20 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 21 | we mourn the passing of former Mayor John F. McNamara and | ||||||
| 22 | extend our sincerest condolences to his family, friends, and | ||||||
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| 1 | all who knew and loved him; and be it further
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| 2 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 3 | presented to the family of John McNamara as an expression of | ||||||
| 4 | our deepest sympathies.
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