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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
| 3 | learn of the death of Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bill Gleason, | ||||||
| 4 | who passed away on January 3, 2010; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Bill Gleason was born and raised in Chicago's | ||||||
| 6 | South Side by his parents, Joseph Gleason and Helen O'Brien | ||||||
| 7 | Gleason; he attended Parker High School, now Paul Robeson High | ||||||
| 8 | School; he served in the United States Army in France during | ||||||
| 9 | World War II, receiving a Silver Star on his 22nd birthday in | ||||||
| 10 | 1944; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, In 1975, Mr. Gleason helped create a Sunday | ||||||
| 12 | afternoon radio sports talk show called "The Sports Writers"; | ||||||
| 13 | in 1985, the show expanded to become the nationally syndicated | ||||||
| 14 | television program "The Sports Writers on TV" and ran until | ||||||
| 15 | 1997; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, His sportswriting career started when he was in | ||||||
| 17 | grammar school; his sister recalled that "he would listen to a | ||||||
| 18 | radio broadcast of a college game from beginning to end, then | ||||||
| 19 | go into his room, pick up a composition book and write his | ||||||
| 20 | personal report of the entire game,"; at the age of 19, Mr. | ||||||
| 21 | Gleason became sports editor of the then-Southtown Economist;
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| 22 | Mr. Gleason's long journalism career also included stints at | ||||||
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| 1 | the now-defunct Chicago American, South Bend Tribune in | ||||||
| 2 | Indiana, and the Daily Southtown; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Mr. Gleason wrote three books: Footsteps of a | ||||||
| 4 | Giant, The Liquid Cross of Skid Row, and Daley of Chicago;
Mr. | ||||||
| 5 | Gleason officially retired in 2001 but continued to speak at | ||||||
| 6 | various engagements; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Mr. Gleason's most significant charitable | ||||||
| 8 | involvement included working with Misericordia Heart of Mercy, | ||||||
| 9 | Maryville Academy, and Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities; he | ||||||
| 10 | was one of the founders of the Red Cloud Athletic Fund; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Mr. Gleason is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen | ||||||
| 12 | Gleason; his two sisters, Bette Conroy and Helen Dunne; his two | ||||||
| 13 | brothers, Joe and Bernie Gleason; his five children, Terence, | ||||||
| 14 | Kevin, Martin, Amy, and Jeanine Ranzen; and his nine | ||||||
| 15 | grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 17 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | ||||||
| 18 | his family, friends, and loyal listeners and readers, the | ||||||
| 19 | passing of Bill Gleason; and be it further
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| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 21 | presented to the family of Bill Gleason as a symbol of our | ||||||
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| 1 | sincere sympathy.
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