SR0615 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0615 LRB097 20252 KXB 65712 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Maynard Wishner of Chicago, who passed away on December 19, 2011; and

WHEREAS, He was born and grew up in Chicago; he earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Chicago; from 1947 to 1952, he worked for the Chicago Mayor's Commission on Human Relations, as head of the commission's department of law and order and then as acting director; he then was appointed chief city prosecutor for the city's Law Department; and

WHEREAS, He was an attorney with the firm of Cole, Wishner, Epstein & Manilow before joining Walter E. Heller & Co., a finance company, where he eventually served as president and chief operating officer; he retired in 1985; he also acted in Yiddish theater; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Wishner was president of the Chicago chapter of the American Jewish Committee from 1961 to 1963 and its national president from 1980 to 1983; he continued to serve as a member of the organization's board of governors; and

WHEREAS, He was a president of what is now the Jewish Federations of North America and chaired what is now the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; he also held prominent positions in the Chicago Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation, the Jewish Community Relations Council, and Jewish Family and Community Service; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Wishner received numerous awards, including the Julius Rosenwald Memorial Award, which is the Chicago Jewish Federation's highest award, and the AJC's Mensch Award; in addition, Mr. Wishner's work to improve Greek-Jewish relations led him to receive the Frizis Award from the Hellenic American Leadership Conference; and

WHEREAS, Maynard Wishner is survived by his wife, Elaine; his daughters, Ellen Kenemore, Jane Wishner, and Mimi Wishner Segel; his sister, Iona Wishner Levenfeld; his 3 sons-in-law, his 8 grandchildren, and his 3 great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Maynard Wishner; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Maynard Wishner as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.