SR0308 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of John Della Valle of Waukegan, who passed away on July 18, 2007; and

WHEREAS, John Della Valle was born in 1923 in Waukegan; he attended Whittier Elementary School and Waukegan Township High School, where he graduated in 1941; he attended the University of Illinois for two years before joining the Army and serving in the South Pacific during the Second World War; and

WHEREAS, John Della Valle served with the Waukegan police department from 1951 to 1974, serving his final seven years as chief; he had the difficult task of replacing most of the department's officers with rookies in 1970, when 54 officers were fired by the city after going on strike; and

WHEREAS, After his retirement from the Waukegan Police Department, John Della Valle served as chief of security for the Outboard Motor Corporation in Waukegan; and

WHEREAS, John Della Valle served on the Waukegan School Board and the City of Waukegan Development Board; he was heavily involved in numerous civic organizations; he was a big supporter of athletics within the city, where he helped form Waukegan's first Little League baseball teams in the early 1950s and assisted in the building of Hinkston Field House in 2004; and

WHEREAS, John Della Valle is survived by his wife, Janet; his son, Jim; his daughter, Jeanne Gotkowski; and his nine grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, John Della Valle will be remembered by all who knew and loved him as a very straight forward and honest person who was always very free with his advice; therefore, be it

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

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of John Della Valle as an expression of our sympathy.