Full Text of SR1006 103rd General Assembly
SR1006 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SR1006 | | LRB103 40745 ECR 73566 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 James R. Pobiega, who passed away on | 4 | | September 12, 2023 at the age of 73; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, James Pobiega was born in Oak Park on August 23, | 6 | | 1950 to Michael Pobiega, who drove a milk truck, and Alice | 7 | | Pobiega, who held several jobs including working as a | 8 | | secretary for a roofing company; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, James Pobiega attended Argo High School in | 10 | | Summit, where he earned the nickname Beowulf due to his large | 11 | | stature, which was later changed to Little Howlin Wolf by | 12 | | passersby who would toss money in his saxophone case as he | 13 | | played music on the Michigan Avenue bridge; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, James Pobiega, a self-taught saxophonist, began | 15 | | busking at Chicago's Old Maxwell Street Market as he graduated | 16 | | high school in 1968; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, James Pobiega studied acting at the Goodman | 18 | | School of Drama and joined his instructor, Patrick Henry, and | 19 | | several classmates to form the Free Street Theater in 1969, | 20 | | which performed around Chicago and the Midwest region; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, James Pobiega worked as Santa Claus at Water | 2 | | Tower Place in Chicago; he enjoyed scuba diving as a hobby and | 3 | | as an instructor and had bit parts in a few productions, | 4 | | including a goofy music video with Tim Kazurinsky and the | 5 | | Chevy Chase movie Bad Meat; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, James Pobiega's true passion was music, and he | 7 | | self-released dozens of singles and three albums, two in the | 8 | | 1980s and one in 2005; although his music was never | 9 | | commercially successful, it found a wider audience in the | 10 | | early 2000s after Twig Harper, a musician who was working at an | 11 | | antique store in Wicker Park, bought one of his self-released | 12 | | albums at a Chicago Thrift shop and circulated it among | 13 | | friends in the underground experimental music scene; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, James Pobiega was preceded in death by his | 15 | | parents; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, At the time of his passing, James Pobiega was | 17 | | survived by his sister, Patricia Pobiega; his cousins, | 18 | | Kathleen Rehr and Bobby Pobiega; and numerous friends; | 19 | | therefore, be it | 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 21 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 22 | | James Pobiega and extend our sincere condolences to his |
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| 1 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 2 | | further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 | | presented to the family of James Pobiega as an expression of | 5 | | our deepest sympathy. |
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