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1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of
3 Illinois were saddened to learn of the death of Gerald Owen
4 Sweeney Sr. of Hinsdale on Friday, January 3, 2003; and
5 WHEREAS, Mr. Sweeney was born in Chicago, and at the age
6 of 7 he and his brother were placed in a children's home in
7 Bensenville following the death of his father; his mother
8 reunited the family when he was in middle school and he
9 graduated from Senn High School in Chicago; he attended
10 DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana on a Rector
11 Scholarship; and
12 WHEREAS, Mr. Sweeney joined the U.S. Navy and served as
13 PT boat captain in the South Pacific during World War II; in
14 1945, he married his wife, Betty Ray; and
15 WHEREAS, Mr. Sweeney worked during the day while
16 completing his law degree at night at John Marshall Law
17 School; in 1959, he formed Sweeney and Riman; he was on the
18 faculty of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal
19 Education and was a former chairman of the Illinois State Bar
20 Association's Commission on Worker's Compensation Law; he
21 argued many cases before the Illinois Appellate and Supreme
22 courts in workers compensation proceedings; and
23 WHEREAS, Mr. Sweeney served as the village attorney for
24 Westmont in the 1960s; recently, he became of counsel with
25 Garofalo, Schrieber, Hart and Storm in Chicago; he is
26 remembered as always being well-prepared, using his intellect
27 and sense of humor in handling sometimes difficult
28 situations; until he was 80, he commuted to downtown Chicago;
29 he retired in 2000; and
30 WHEREAS, Mr. Sweeney was a member of Ruth Lake Country
31 Club and a past president; he was an avid skier and owned a
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1 home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado until it was sold two
2 years ago; and
3 WHEREAS, The passing of Mr. Sweeney has been deeply felt
4 by many, especially his wife, Betty Ray; his daughters, Susan
5 McClelland and Becky Barton; his sons, Brian and Gerald Jr.;
6 his brother, Donald; his 11 grandchildren; and his
7 great-grandchild; therefore, be it
8 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
9 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing
10 of Gerald Owen Sweeney Sr. and offer our deepest sympathy to
11 his family and friends, who fondly remember him as the
12 backbone of their family; and be it further
13 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14 presented to the family of Gerald Owen Sweeney Sr. with our
15 sincerest condolences.