Full Text of SR0875 103rd General Assembly
SR0875 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SR0875 | | LRB103 40003 LAW 71321 r |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Alan L. "Al" Larson, the former and | 4 | | longest-serving Mayor of the Village of Schaumburg, who passed | 5 | | away on March 19, 2024; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Al Larson was born on October 21, 1938; he and his | 7 | | family moved to Schaumburg in the late 1960s; he earned an | 8 | | Associate of Science from William Rainey Harper College in | 9 | | Palatine; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Al Larson began serving the Village of Schaumburg | 11 | | in 1973, when he was appointed public relations director and | 12 | | as a member of the village's first Environmental Committee; he | 13 | | was next appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals and was named | 14 | | chairman of the Environmental Committee in 1974; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Al Larson began his political tenure as a village | 16 | | trustee of Schaumburg in 1975, a position he held across three | 17 | | terms for a total of 12 years; he reintroduced and revitalized | 18 | | the concept of a Schaumburg Historic District to aid in the | 19 | | preservation of historic buildings, leading to the | 20 | | establishment of the Olde Schaumburg Centre Historic District; | 21 | | during his tenure, he also co-founded the Spring Valley Nature | 22 | | Sanctuary, and he received the 1976 Environmental Award from |
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| 1 | | the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for his efforts, | 2 | | becoming one of only two locally elected officials to receive | 3 | | the award; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Al Larson served as Mayor of the Village of | 5 | | Schaumburg for eight terms from 1987 to 2019; he led many | 6 | | development projects in the retail, residential, and | 7 | | commercial sectors, significantly raising Schaumburg's profile | 8 | | locally and nationally; he spearheaded the initiative for the | 9 | | village to acquire the privately-owned Schaumburg Airpark as a | 10 | | public airfield in 1994, known today as the Schaumburg | 11 | | Regional Airport; he oversaw the village's acquisition of Town | 12 | | Square Shopping Center in 1995; he built collaborative | 13 | | relationships with local government partners, bringing a | 14 | | professional baseball team to the village in 1999; he also | 15 | | supervised the village's acquisition of a previously | 16 | | underproductive tract of land on Schaumburg's northeast side | 17 | | that became the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel | 18 | | in 2016; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Al Larson was also instrumental in broadening | 20 | | cultural programming through helping launch the annual Prairie | 21 | | Arts Festival, initiating the development of a theater | 22 | | workshop for young people, promoting the development of the | 23 | | Schaumburg Youth Orchestra, and pushing for the establishment | 24 | | of a youth ballet troupe that led to the founding of the |
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| 1 | | Schaumburg Dance Ensemble; in recognition of his achievements | 2 | | in the arts, the Prairie Center was renamed the Al Larson | 3 | | Prairie Center for the Arts in his honor in 2017; after | 4 | | finishing his service as mayor in 2019, he was appointed to the | 5 | | village's 1% for Art Committee and Cultural Commission, where | 6 | | he continued to serve until his passing, and he helped fund the | 7 | | Prairie Center Arts Foundation's Young Artist Assistance | 8 | | Program in 2020; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Al Larson held leadership positions in several | 10 | | organizations, which included serving as past president and | 11 | | vice president of the Illinois Municipal League, chair of | 12 | | Joint Action Water Agency, co-chair of the STAR Line Steering | 13 | | Committee, and past president of the Northwest Municipal | 14 | | Conference, where he also served as a member of the executive | 15 | | board and as past chair of the Transportation Committee; he | 16 | | served on the boards of Arts Alliance Illinois, the Chicago | 17 | | Area Transportation Study, the Illinois Public Airports | 18 | | Association, and PACE; he was a member of the O'Hare Noise | 19 | | Compatibility Commission, the Council of Mayors, and the | 20 | | Transportation Infrastructure and Services Steering Committee | 21 | | for the National League of Cities; he also served on the | 22 | | 15-member Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and its | 23 | | executive committee, charged with integrating land use and | 24 | | transportation planning for the 7-county area of northeastern | 25 | | Illinois; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Al Larson was known for his mentorship, charisma, | 2 | | and love for Schaumburg; he will be remembered as a visionary | 3 | | who dedicated more than 45 years of his life to serving | 4 | | Schaumburg, ensuring its future for generations to come; | 5 | | therefore, be it | 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 7 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 8 | | Alan L. "Al" Larson, the former and longest-serving Mayor of | 9 | | the Village of Schaumburg, and extend our sincere condolences | 10 | | to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be | 11 | | it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to the family of Al Larson as an expression of our | 14 | | deepest sympathy. |
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