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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Steven F. "Steve" Graceffa of Roscoe, who
4passed away on October 31, 2019; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa was born in Rockford to Benjamin
6and Delores (Eastman) Graceffa on May 31, 1951; he graduated
7from Boylan Catholic High School in 1969 and married Linda
8Heisler on May 23, 1970; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa began work in 1970 as a truck
10driver; driving a brand new truck, he promptly got stuck in
11sludge, was pulled out, and tore off the front bumper in the
12process, thus began his career at Rock River Water Reclamation
13District; and
 
14    WHEREAS, As the district grew, Steve Graceffa's
15responsibilities grew; he became Supervisor of the Supporting
16Services Department in 1976, Supporting Services Manager in
171985, and District Director in 2005; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa was instrumental in moving the
19district from a small collection system with regional trucks to
20a collection system estimated to be the second largest in the
21State; this was accomplished with the assimilation of Loves

 

 

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1Park, Cherry Valley, Roscoe, the City of Rockford, and the
2Village of Winnebago; the collection system now includes over
31,128 miles of pipe; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa established a five-year cleaning
5plan for the district, which has been in place for over 35
6years and is now used by many communities throughout the United
7States as the standard in collection system management; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa moved the district through the
9modernization of cleaning equipment, including the addition of
10computers for use in collecting data, televising, and
11inspection of the collection system; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa was always first in implementing
13new technologies in the field of rehabilitation of the
14collection system; this included the lining of sewer mains and
15services, manhole rehabilitation, and a number of other
16technologies and methods, all in the pursuit of improving the
17collection system and reducing costs to the district's users;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa retired as a district director; he
20was honored by having the new administration building named
21after him in 2017; he served as the vice president of the
22J.U.L.I.E. board, and, after retirement, worked for Paper

 

 

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1Recovery as a consultant; he was known for his incredible work
2ethic; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa dedicated his 46-year career to
4demonstrating an exemplary sense of duty to improve his
5community by protecting public health and the environment
6through innovative and cost-effective wastewater management;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa's community involvement and
9contributions included serving as president of IAWA and as a
1016-year JULIE Board member and participation in RAEDC
11initiatives and Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa spent years with the Rockford
13Speedway and the Derry family; he enjoyed boating, time by the
14pool, traveling, his cherished Mustang, and his four-legged
15fury buddy Nicky; most of all, he loved his family and will be
16forever remembered as a great husband, dad, papa, son, uncle,
17cousin, and friend; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa was preceded in death by his
19mother, Delores Graceffa; his mother-in-law and father-in-law,
20Donald and Patricia Heisler; his sister-in-law, Susan (Mike)
21Welter; his brother-in-law, James Heisler; and his best friend,
22Brian Wahl; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Steve Graceffa is survived by his wife, Linda; his
2sons, Scott (Amy) and Brian (Jackie) Graceffa; his
3grandchildren, Kayla (Tom) Zeimet, Matt Best, Baily Graceffa,
4Hannah Graceffa, and Braden Graceffa; his father, Ben Graceffa;
5his siblings, Ben (Doris) Graceffa, Dan (Pat) Graceffa, Phillip
6(Beth) Graceffa, Robert (JoMarie) Graceffa, Jeff (Sherry)
7Graceffa, and Sue (Dan) Habben; his in-laws, Michael (Doreen)
8Heisler, Steven (Sherry) Heisler, David (Mary) Heisler, and
9Debra McGuire; his goddaughters, Jennifer Betts and Justine
10Graceffa; his aunt, Jackie Fenelon; his longtime friends,
11Theresa Wahl, Mark and Denise VanVleck, and Frank Graceffa; and
12numerous nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends; therefore, be
13it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
15ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
16Steven F. "Steve" Graceffa and extend our sincere condolences
17to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be
18it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to the family of Steve Graceffa as an expression of
21our deepest sympathy.