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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | ||||||
| 3 | to learn of the death of Sunil Puri, who passed away on March | ||||||
| 4 | 8, 2026; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Sunil Puri was born in Bombay (Mumbai), India to | ||||||
| 6 | Amarnath and Chanchal Rani Puri on October 3, 1960; he | ||||||
| 7 | immigrated to the United States in 1979 at the age of 18 and | ||||||
| 8 | settled in Rockford; he graduated from Rockford College (now | ||||||
| 9 | Rockford University) in 1982 with a degree in accounting; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Sunil Puri founded the First Midwest Group in | ||||||
| 11 | 1984, and under his leadership, the company grew into a | ||||||
| 12 | preeminent development firm, reshaping the region with retail, | ||||||
| 13 | office, and industrial projects and founding enduring ventures | ||||||
| 14 | such as the Road Ranger travel center network; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Sunil Puri was a dedicated humanitarian and civic | ||||||
| 16 | partner; his philanthropic legacy includes the Puri School of | ||||||
| 17 | Business at Rockford University, the Puri Family YMCA, the | ||||||
| 18 | Salvation Army Puri Family Disaster Services Center, the | ||||||
| 19 | Keeling-Puri Peace Plaza, the Perryville Path, the Puri Park | ||||||
| 20 | Disc Golf Course, and donations of land for Remedies Renewing | ||||||
| 21 | Lives and Rockford Christian Schools; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Sunil Puri's influence extended nationally and | ||||||
| 2 | internationally; he advocated for stronger U.S.-India | ||||||
| 3 | relations and traveled to India with President Bill Clinton in | ||||||
| 4 | 2000 and 2001 and with President Barack Obama in 2010; he was | ||||||
| 5 | appointed to the White House Commission on Asian Americans and | ||||||
| 6 | Pacific Islanders under President Obama and later served on | ||||||
| 7 | the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. | ||||||
| 8 | Kennedy Center and the Presidential Commission for Scholars | ||||||
| 9 | under President Biden; he also supported numerous global | ||||||
| 10 | initiatives, including Water for Dignity in India; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Sunil Puri was a man of deep intellect and | ||||||
| 12 | passion, holding honorary doctorate degrees and attending | ||||||
| 13 | executive programs at London Business School and Harvard | ||||||
| 14 | Business School; he was actively involved with many | ||||||
| 15 | professional organizations, including the Young Presidents' | ||||||
| 16 | Organization (YPO), and served as a board member of the | ||||||
| 17 | Rockford Area Economic Development Council (RAEDC) and | ||||||
| 18 | Rockford University; he was known for his tenacity, his | ||||||
| 19 | loyalty to those he trusted, and his undying belief in the | ||||||
| 20 | meritocracy of America; and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, Sunil Puri was preceded in death by his parents | ||||||
| 22 | and his brothers, Harish, Dilip, and Dinesh Puri; and | ||||||
| 23 | WHEREAS, Sunil Puri is survived by his partner, Candace | ||||||
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| 1 | Ross; his children, Ashwin, Chandan, and Anjali; his brothers, | ||||||
| 2 | Vijay (Vandana) and Pravin (Suman); his sisters-in-law, | ||||||
| 3 | Savrina and Madhu; his nephews, Bharat, Tanuj, Tushar, and | ||||||
| 4 | Ujwal; and his nieces, Rakhi, Sakshi, Upasana, Prerna, and | ||||||
| 5 | Roshni; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 6 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 7 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 8 | Sunil Puri and extend our sincere condolences to his family, | ||||||
| 9 | friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further | ||||||
| 10 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 11 | presented to the family of Sunil Puri as an expression of our | ||||||
| 12 | deepest sympathy. | ||||||