Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SR0813
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Full Text of SR0813  102nd General Assembly

SR0813 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of Richard L. Duchossois of Barrington
4Hills, who passed away on January 28, 2022; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Richard Duchossois was born to Ernestine and
6Alphonse Duchossois in Chicago on October 7, 1921; he was a
7native of Chicago; he attended Morgan Park Military Academy
8during his formative years; he attended Washington and Lee
9University in Lexington, Virginia; he served in the U.S. Army
10during World War II, where he was assigned to the 610th Tank
11Destroyer Battalion and served as commander of a Tank
12Destroyer Company throughout five European campaigns under
13General George S. Patton; he survived a gunshot wound,
14recovered, and returned to the front, leading his company
15through famed operations such as The Battle of the Bulge; he
16was awarded a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and the Order of St.
17Maurice medallion; he received the Legion d'Honneur on the
1870th anniversary of D-Day by the French government in
19Normandy, France in 2014; he married Beverly Thrall in July
201943, and they had four children, Craig, Dayle, Bruce, and
21Kimberly, and settled in Flossmoor; he later married Mary
22Judith McKeage in 2000; and
 
23    WHEREAS, Upon his return home from the war, Richard

 

 

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1Duchossois joined his wife's family's railcar parts and repair
2business, Thrall Car Manufacturing Company, in Chicago
3Heights; he honed his intuitive business instincts while
4there, relentlessly striving for growth and improvement; he
5grew the company from 35 employees to 3,000 employees by the
6time it was acquired by the Trinity Rail Group in 2001,
7diversifying his company over the years with the purchase of
8Chamberlain Manufacturing Group, broadcast outlets, Arlington
9Park, and a number of other businesses; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Richard Duchossois was most associated with
11Arlington Park, the thoroughbred racetrack located in
12Arlington Heights; after an electrical fire destroyed the
13entire facility in 1985, he galvanized his employees to hold
14the famed Arlington Million race just days after the fire;
15this feat became a horseracing legend known as the "Miracle
16Million" and marked the first time a racetrack was ever
17awarded racing's highest honor, the Eclipse Special Award; he
18then championed the facility's rebuild, setting it apart from
19other racetracks globally with its striking cantilevered roof,
20world-class facilities, and international stakes races; during
21his tenure in horseracing, he oversaw the merger of Arlington
22Park with Churchill Downs Incorporated in 2000, brought the
232002 Breeders Cup to Arlington Park, owned one of the leading
24breeding farms in Illinois, and actively worked to influence
25and shape the racing industry and its legislation; he was

 

 

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1inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in
22019; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Richard Duchossois made his first major
4philanthropic gift to the University of Chicago Medical Center
5in 1978 in response to the care and treatment his wife Beverly
6was receiving before her passing in 1980; his gift supported
7world-renowned experts in lymphoma, including Dr. John Ultmann
8as the first director of the Cancer Research Center at the
9University of Chicago; he established The Duchossois Family
10Foundation soon after; he supported cancer research in
11partnership with the University of Chicago and initiatives
12such as Patient Navigation Services with the American Cancer
13Society, among others; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Richard Duchossois served as a trustee of the
15National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he
16participated in several oral history projects; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In his 100 years of life, Richard Duchossois left
18an indelible impression on the world as a decorated war hero, a
19renowned entrepreneur, a horseracing icon, a philanthropist, a
20husband, a father, an uncle, a grandfather, a
21great-grandfather, and a friend; he will be remembered for his
22leadership, humility, generosity, perseverance, and dedication
23to the service of others; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Richard Duchossois was preceded in death by first
2wife, Beverly, and their son, R. Bruce Duchossois; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Richard Duchossois is survived by his wife, Mary
4Judith (McKeage); his son, Craig J. Duchossois (Janet); his
5daughters, Dayle Duchossois-Fortino (Ed) and Kimberly
6Duchossois; his stepsons, Steve Marchi (Sherrie) and Paul
7Marchi (Judy); his seven grandchildren and their spouses; his
8two step-grandchildren; and his 14 great-grandchildren;
9therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
11ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
12Richard L. Duchossois and extend our sincere condolences to
13his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
14further
 
15    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16presented to the family of Richard Duchossois as an expression
17of our deepest sympathy.