Full Text of SR1102 96th General Assembly
SR1102 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of
James R. Rakow of Algonquin, who passed | 4 | | away on December 10, 2010; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, James Rakow was born on December 15, 1928, in | 6 | | Elgin; his parents were Waldemar Alvin and Jeanette (Taylor) | 7 | | Rakow; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, At an early age, James Rakow worked with his | 9 | | father in surveying business surveying roads in Kane, McHenry, | 10 | | and Lake Counties; in 1949, he graduated from Elgin High | 11 | | School; he then continued his education at Bradley University, | 12 | | where he graduated with a degree in engineering; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, James Rakow served his country with pride and | 14 | | distinction as a member of the United States Navy aboard the | 15 | | USS Cunningham during the Korean War; he graduated from Officer | 16 | | Candidate School in 1953 with the rank of Lieutenant Junior | 17 | | Grade; in 1967, he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Naval | 18 | | Reserve as a lieutenant; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, James Rakow was a partner with his father in WA | 20 | | Rakow Engineering & Surveying in Elgin for more than 15 years; | 21 | | he also worked for Baxter Woodmand in Crystal Lake; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, James Rakow served as the McHenry County | 2 | | Superintendent of Roads/Engineer for more than 24 years; during | 3 | | his tenure, he put in more than 11 years of legwork and played | 4 | | a vital role in procuring the right of way for the road | 5 | | connecting Route 31 with Randall Road, which was completed | 6 | | after he left the position; the road was named James R. Rakow | 7 | | Road in honor of his many contributions to its construction; he | 8 | | oversaw and planned the replacement of Pearl Street Bridge in | 9 | | McHenry, the Rawson Road Bridge, and many county bridges, which | 10 | | included widening of the pavement and shoulders; he was | 11 | | instrumental in the building of the Charles Miller Bridge in | 12 | | McHenry, having helped purchase the land and engineering the | 13 | | roads east and west of the new bridge; he was actively involved | 14 | | with local, township, and county agencies in the development, | 15 | | expansion, and improvement of numerous roads, including the | 16 | | Randall Road north/south corridor, the Algonquin Road | 17 | | widening, and the Northern Algonquin Bypass (now known as the | 18 | | Western Algonquin Bypass); he was responsible for the | 19 | | construction and maintenance of more than 200 miles of county | 20 | | roads; he worked diligently to reconfigure the Township Highway | 21 | | Commissioner operations; he promoted and aided in the | 22 | | development of the current McHenry County Zoning and | 23 | | Subdivision Ordinances; he also laid the groundwork for McHenry | 24 | | County Stormwater Ordinance and upgraded the Highway | 25 | | Department to meet the demands of the 21st century; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, James Rakow served as an adviser to and board | 2 | | member of CATS (Chicago Area Transit System) and was actively | 3 | | involved with numerous area engineering associations and | 4 | | societies; from 1993 to 2005, he was employed at SEC Group Inc. | 5 | | in McHenry; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, James Rakow was very active with the Elgin YMCA in | 7 | | his younger years; he enjoyed playing racquetball and handball, | 8 | | golfing, boating, crossword puzzles, the Chicago Bears, and the | 9 | | Chicago Cubs; he also enjoyed traveling with his wife in the | 10 | | British Virgin Islands on various sailing vessels; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, James Rakow was preceded in death by his parents; | 12 | | his stepmother, Lois Rakow Graning; his son, Steven Rakow; and | 13 | | his grandson, Alex Grossman; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, James Rakow is survived by his best friend and | 15 | | loving wife, Phyllis K. Walters; his loving children, Diane | 16 | | (Charles) Griffin, Ansley Webster, Andrea Walters, and Anthony | 17 | | (Sheri) Walters; his cherished grandchildren, Luke, Jessica, | 18 | | and Rebecca Grossman, Jennifer (Michael) Tramantana, April | 19 | | Molenda, Laurin Adeniran, Abigail Lindahl, and Ashley, | 20 | | Benjamin, and Cole Walters; his treasured great-grandchildren, | 21 | | Len Molenda-Nichols and Destiny Molenda-Nichols; his sister, | 22 | | Ruth Ann Rakow Crandall; his brother-in-law, Chris Kobel; and |
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| 1 | | his sister-in-law, Marie Holtz; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 3 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 4 | | his family and friends, the passing of James R. Rakow; and be | 5 | | it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 | | presented to the family of James Rakow as an expression of our | 8 | | sympathy.
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