Full Text of HR1022 102nd General Assembly
HR1022 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly are | 3 | | saddened
to learn of the death of former Harwood Heights Mayor | 4 | | Ray Willas; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Willas was born to John and Agnes Willas on | 6 | | March 17, 1932; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Willas was a student at St. Fidelis | 8 | | Elementary School, Tuley High School, and Wright Junior | 9 | | College; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Willas served his country as an engineer in | 11 | | the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Korean War from 1952 | 12 | | through 1954; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Willas worked in the private sector as the | 14 | | finance director of C.F.S. Continental Coffee and L. Karp & | 15 | | Sons; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1965, Mayor Willas moved to the Village of | 17 | | Harwood Heights and received a parking ticket on his car in | 18 | | front of his new home for not displaying a vehicle sticker, | 19 | | which was dismissed after a heated discussion with the police | 20 | | chief; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Willas previously served on the Harwood | 2 | | Heights Zoning Board of Appeals for two years; in 1968, he was | 3 | | appointed to a vacant Harwood Heights trustee's chair and was | 4 | | elected to a full term as trustee in 1971; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, In 1973, Mayor Willas was elected as mayor of | 6 | | Harwood Heights and served in that position until his | 7 | | retirement in 2001; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, In addition to serving as mayor of Harwood | 9 | | Heights, Mayor Willas also served as president of the | 10 | | Leyden-Norwood Park Municipal League, president of the West | 11 | | Central Municipal League, and as a member of the Illinois | 12 | | Municipal League Board; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In 1986, Mayor Willas expressed to the Chicago | 14 | | Tribune that being the mayor of a small village meant that "The | 15 | | buck stops here. In a small town, people know who to call when | 16 | | they have problems...And yes, it delays dinner sometimes, but | 17 | | I've found what people usually need is just someone who's | 18 | | willing to listen and help, if possible"; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Willas was married to his wife, Barbara, | 20 | | for 64 years and was the father of Mary Kay Pawlak, the | 21 | | father-in-law of Gary Pawlak, and the grandfather of Andrew, |
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| 1 | | Brian (Diego), and Kaitlyn Pawlak; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 3 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 4 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we extend our hearts and | 5 | | condolences to the family of former Harwood Heights Mayor Ray | 6 | | Willas; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That we recognize the decades of service, | 8 | | commitment to community, and hard work that Mayor Willas | 9 | | dedicated to his home of Harwood Heights, the "island in the | 10 | | city", which he succeeded in making a great place to live; and | 11 | | be it further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to Barbara Willas, Mary Kay Pawlak, Andrew Pawlak, | 14 | | Brian Pawlak, and Kaitlyn Pawlak as an expression of our | 15 | | deepest sympathy.
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