Full Text of SR0858 102nd General Assembly
SR0858 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Robert "Bob" Ontiveros, who passed | 4 | | away on February 8, 2022; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros was born to John and Josephine | 6 | | Ontiveros on August 17, 1938; he attended Moline High School, | 7 | | where he excelled at wrestling, track and field, and | 8 | | basketball;
following his high school graduation, he studied | 9 | | at the University of Cincinnati for one year followed by one | 10 | | year at Moline Community College, now Black Hawk College; he | 11 | | married Blenda Crummer in 1960; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros started his professional career as | 13 | | a sales representative for Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B); after a | 14 | | few years, he began working for the R.V. Evans Company, a small | 15 | | industrial packaging startup out of Decatur and the local | 16 | | dealer for Paslode pneumatic nail guns; he was given the sales | 17 | | territory of north central Illinois and eastern Iowa; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, After watching the industry grow for seven years, | 19 | | Bob Ontiveros and his wife saw an opportunity to start their | 20 | | own business; supported by a few local investors, they founded | 21 | | Bi-State Packaging in 1974; their team, including their two | 22 | | sons, transformed Bi-State Packaging into a multifaceted |
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| 1 | | business enterprise respected throughout North America for its | 2 | | packaging solutions, supply chain services, and incentive | 3 | | marketing programs; their company is now called Group O; under | 4 | | his leadership as CEO, Group O has grown into one of the | 5 | | largest Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. and one of the | 6 | | largest employers in the Quad Cities, with revenues of over | 7 | | $500 million, more than 1,000 employees, and operations in | 8 | | Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Mexico; he retired as CEO | 9 | | and became chairman of the company in 1999; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros, along with his wife, developed | 11 | | Community Health Care, Familia Dental, and the Boys and Girls | 12 | | Clubs of the Mississippi Valley; he founded the Greater Quad | 13 | | Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2008; with his son | 14 | | Christopher and granddaughter Maria, he founded the nonprofit | 15 | | Mercado on Fifth in 2016; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros served as chairman of the Quad | 17 | | Cities Civic Center Authority Board from 1996 to 2003; he | 18 | | previously served on Augustana's Board of Trustees along with | 19 | | many other local, state, and national organizations; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros was a dedicated philanthropist and | 21 | | supported many organizations throughout the Quad Cities, | 22 | | including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) | 23 | | chapters in Davenport and Moline, Moline schools, Niabi Zoo, |
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| 1 | | Scott Community College, WQPT PBS, and WVIK Quad Cities NPR; | 2 | | he was also a major supporter of Fourth Wall Films' efforts to | 3 | | produce documentaries about Hero Street U.S.A. in Silvis; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros and his wife created numerous | 5 | | endowed scholarship funds for Hispanic students, making a | 6 | | $100,000 gift to Augustana College for that purpose in 2016; | 7 | | they donated $1 million to their alma mater Black Hawk College | 8 | | in 2020, becoming the institution's largest gift to date; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros was named one of six State of | 10 | | Illinois Lincoln Award honorees in 2013; he received an | 11 | | Outstanding Community Leadership Award from the State of | 12 | | Illinois Comptroller, a Legacy Award from the U.S. Department | 13 | | of Commerce, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National | 14 | | Minority Supplier Development Council, the Chicago Minority | 15 | | Business Development Council, and Negocios Now; he was | 16 | | inducted into the Minority Business Hall of Fame, the Black | 17 | | Hawk College Alumni Hall of Fame, the Junior Achievement of | 18 | | the Heartland Business Hall of Fame, and the Jeremiah Milbank | 19 | | Society; he received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters | 20 | | from Western Illinois University and an honorary doctorate | 21 | | from Augustana College; he and his wife received the honor of | 22 | | the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley's Teen | 23 | | Center in Moline being renamed the Robert & Blenda Ontiveros | 24 | | Teen Center in 2019; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros loved selling things; he enjoyed | 2 | | traveling the world, cycling, running, snowmobiling, boating, | 3 | | skiing, playing handball, and golfing at Oakwood Country Club | 4 | | and Short Hills Country Club in the Quad Cities and Longboat | 5 | | Key Club in Longboat Key, Florida; he exercised daily, | 6 | | maintained connections with longtime friends through daily | 7 | | emails and phone calls, and relished time with his family, | 8 | | including his grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros was preceded in death by his | 10 | | parents and his siblings, Maria Elena, Lawrence, Rita, and | 11 | | Steven; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Bob Ontiveros is survived by his siblings, John | 13 | | (Laura), Frank (Lorna), Christine (Jeff) Reem, Joanne (Ray) | 14 | | Bender, Michael, and Cindy (Dave) Newton; his sons, | 15 | | Christopher (Pamela) and Gregg; his grandchildren, Maria (Jack | 16 | | Cullen), Allie, Dana, Will, Josie, and Kendall; and his | 17 | | great-grandchildren, Emma, Stella, and Anna Catherine; | 18 | | therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 20 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 21 | | Robert "Bob" Ontiveros and extend our sincere condolences to | 22 | | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it |
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| 1 | | further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 3 | | presented to the family of Bob Ontiveros as an expression of | 4 | | our deepest sympathy.
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