HR0287 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Richard
4C. "Dick" "The Big Kahuna" Weis, former Mayor of Freeport, who
5passed away on April 2, 2017; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to
7Richard Albert and Dorothy (Hammer) Weis on April 27, 1936; he
8attended the Clark Street School and then the Gehnslen
9Orthopedic School through 1949; he then attended Craig School
10for seventh and eighth grades and graduated from Wauwatosa High
11School in 1955; he married Carolyn Mitton on November 24, 1956;
12he received his Bachelor of Science from the University of
13Wisconsin in 1976; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis began a career in broadcasting at WRIT
15Radio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; he was a reporter for the
16Northwest Reporter in Milwaukee from 1956 to 1959; he was
17publisher of Teen Beat from 1959 to 1961 and served as an
18account executive at W-Rochester Institute of Technology Radio
19from 1961 to 1963; he went onto become the sales manager at
20WYLO Radio from 1963 to 1965, WUTU Channel 18 in Milwaukee from
211965 to 1970,; from 1970 to 1978 he was the General Manager at
22the Schlitz Broadcast Division of the Jos. Schlitz Brewing
23Company, which owned the radio and television broadcast rights

 

 

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1for the Milwaukee Brewers, Marquette University, the
2University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee Bucks; he
3hired Bob Uecker, Tom Collins, Eddie Doucette, and Merle
4Harmon; from 1978 to 1981, he built Channel 24 WCGV-TV in
5Milwaukee from the ground up and began the country's first
6pay-per-view service in 1979; in 1981, he bought the radio
7station WFPS and was the owner of Weis Inc. in Freeport from
81981 to 1989; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis coached Concordia Jr. High and High
10School basketball from 1966 to 1970; he also coached the
11Concordia Jr. College basketball teams from 1973 to 1978, where
12he won the State Championship in the 1973-74 and 1977-78
13seasons; he began Concordia's four-year basketball program for
14the 1978-79 season, and in his last year of coaching, the
151979-80 season, the Falcons had their second trip to the
16National Little College Tournament; he also assisted Concordia
17football coach Andy Luptak as receivers, defense backs, and
18special teams coach; many of his former players retained
19cherished friendships with him throughout his life; he also
20played on and managed Raabe Paint fast pitch softball teams
21through the 1979 season; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis is a member of the Concordia/Wisconsin
23Athletic Hall of Fame, and is a member of the Major League
24Baseball Players Alumni Association; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis is listed in Who's Who in American
2Broadcasting, Coaching, and Politics; he was a Paul Harris
3Fellow with the Freeport Noon Rotary Club; he was awarded the
4Rotary Club's Community Image Award and was named the Junior
5Chamber of Commerce Boss of the Year; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis served as Mayor of Freeport from 1989
7to 1997; he worked with the National League of Cities and the
8United States Conference of Mayors; and
 
9    WHEREAS, After the passing of his first wife, Mayor Weis
10married Sandra Wallmo at Krape Park in Freeport on October 11,
112003; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis was named Volunteer of the Year by
13Martin Luther King Jr. Community Services in 1990 and
14Outstanding Citizen by Freeport International Fellowship in
151992; he helped with Muscular Dystrophy causes in Milwaukee,
16Wisconsin in 1974, served as President of Crime Stoppers in
17Freeport in 1984, and worked with Greater Downtown Freeport in
181985; he was President of the Freeport Chamber of Commerce in
191986 and also served as President of the Noon Rotary Club; he
20was a volunteer for VietNow in 1990, served as a board member
21for the Illinois Municipal League from 1989 to 1990, and served
22as a board member of the American Leadership in 1994; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis spent 17 years soliciting mittens and
2caps for children, and one year filled two semis of food for
3the food pantry while sitting in an outdoor toilet; in 2011, he
4and his wife, Sandy, raised funds and established the Coach
5Weis Endowment Fund at Concordia University/Wisconsin, giving
6students with disabilities yearly financial aide at Concordia;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis was preceded in death by his parents;
9his first wife, Carolyn; his daughter, Dawn Lenzke; and his
10sister, Joan Dieringer; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Mayor Weis is survived by his wife, Sandy; his
12daughters, Sandra (Scott) Summers, Debbie (Ken) Moore, Sherrie
13Larson, and Lorie (Conor) Arendt; his stepdaughter, Elizabeth
14Wallmo; his son-in-law, Jim Lenzke; 15 grandchildren; 21
15great-grandchildren; and many good friends; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
17HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
18mourn the passing of Richard C. Weis, former Mayor of Freeport,
19and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and
20all who knew and loved him; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be

 

 

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1presented to the family of Mayor Weis as an expression of our
2deepest sympathy.