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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of George
4 Sangmeister of Mokena, who passed away on October 7, 2007; and
 
5     WHEREAS, George Sangmeister was born in Frankfort; he
6 served in the United States Army during the Korean War; and
 
7     WHEREAS, George Sangmeister began his public career in
8 1961, serving as a Justice of the Peace and Magistrate of the
9 Circuit Court in Will County; he served as State's Attorney in
10 Will County from 1964 to 1968; and
 
11     WHEREAS, In 1972, George Sangmeister was elected to the
12 Illinois State House of Representatives, where he served for
13 two terms; he returned to Springfield as an Illinois State
14 Senator, serving from 1976 until 1987; during his tenure in the
15 Illinois State Senate, he served as both chairman of the Senate
16 Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Senate Executive
17 Committee; and
 
18     WHEREAS, George Sangmeister was elected to the United
19 States Congress in November of 1988 and was one of only eight
20 new members to unseat an incumbent; he was re-elected to the
21 House of Representatives in 1990 and again in 1992; as a

 

 

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1 congressman, he served on the Public Works and Transportation
2 Committee, the Veteran's Affairs Committee, and the Judiciary
3 Committee; he retired from Congress in January of 1995; and
 
4     WHEREAS, George Sangmeister was consistently endorsed for
5 re-election by local and Chicago media outlets and was named
6 one of the "Top Ten Legislators" in a 1985 poll conducted by
7 the Chicago Sun-Times; and
 
8     WHEREAS, George Sangmeister was "Of Counsel" with the Firm
9 of McKeown, Fitzgerald, Zollner, Buck, Hutchison, and Ruttle;
10 and
 
11     WHEREAS, George Sangmeister was a member of many civic
12 organizations, including the Frankfort Unit of the American
13 Cancer Society, the Silver Cross Hospital Foundation Board, the
14 American Legion, and the Frankfort Lions Club; he was a member
15 and former Chairman of the Support Committee for the Abraham
16 Lincoln National Cemetery; he was a former member of the Board
17 of Directors of Joliet Junior College Foundation; he also
18 served as Chairman of the Housing Foundation of Will County, an
19 organization that served the homeless and those in need of
20 affordable housing; and
 
21     WHEREAS, His proudest accomplishment was initiating the
22 legislation for the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, which

 

 

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1 sits on land formerly occupied by the Joliet Arsenal; and
 
2     WHEREAS, George Sangmeister received many awards and
3 accolades in recognition of his public service; he was the
4 recipient of the Alumnus of the Year Award from Elmhurst
5 College and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from John Marshall
6 Law School; he also received the Alumnus Achievement Award from
7 Joliet Junior College and the Distinguished Service Award from
8 the Will County Educational Service Region; he was named in
9 Who's Who in the Midwest; he was the chairman of the committee
10 that planned the transfer of the Joliet Arsenal from military
11 to civilian use and personally designated the committee to
12 allocate almost 1,000 acres as the site for the Abraham Lincoln
13 National Cemetery; in 1993, he was conferred with the Degree of
14 Doctorate of Humanities, Honoris, Causa, by Lewis University;
15 in 1994, he received a Doctorate of Law from Elmhurst College;
16 in 1998, a Medal of Excellence was created in his honor by
17 Silver Cross Hospital; and
 
18     WHEREAS, George Sangmeister is survived by his wife, Doris
19 M. (nee Hinspeter); his children, George Kurt (Gina)
20 Sangmeister and Kimberly Ann (Chris) Puckett; his
21 grandchildren, Jordan, Cole, Keegan, and Kinzie; and his
22 numerous cousins; therefore, be it
 
23     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE

 

 

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1 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
2 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of George
3 Sangmeister; and be it further
 
4     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5 presented to the family of George Sangmeister as an expression
6 of our sympathy.