Full Text of HR1262 100th General Assembly
HR1262 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Naperville icon, A. George Pradel, passed from | 3 | | this life on September 4, 2018, one day
before his 81st | 4 | | birthday; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, George Pradel was born in Hyde Park, but was a | 6 | | lifelong resident of Naperville
after his family moved to town | 7 | | in 1939 when he was two; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, George Pradel graduated from Naperville Community | 9 | | High School and then served his
country and community in the | 10 | | U.S. Marine Corps; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Upon returning to Naperville, George Pradel began | 12 | | working for the Naperville Police
Department in 1966, where he | 13 | | quickly earned the nickname Officer Friendly for his love of
| 14 | | visiting local schools and teaching children about safety; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, To bring his safety message home to local | 16 | | children, George Pradel founded Safety
Town in 1977, a | 17 | | miniature village dedicated to teaching about pedestrian, | 18 | | bike, and railroad
safety; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Young George Pradel met Patricia Burke on a set-up | 20 | | put together by his sister; they fell in love and were married |
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| 1 | | in 1966; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, George Pradel retired from the Naperville Police | 3 | | Department as a Lieutenant when he
was elected to his first | 4 | | term as Mayor of Naperville in 1995; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, George Pradel served 20 years as Mayor of | 6 | | Naperville, becoming the
city's longest-serving mayor; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, During his tenure, Mayor George Pradel was a | 8 | | tireless champion for his hometown; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, To meet his growing city's needs, George Pradel | 10 | | helped create Naperville's Senior
Task Force and new city | 11 | | positions of Chairman of Chinese Outreach and Chairmen of | 12 | | Indian
Outreach; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, With safety always a paramount concern, as Mayor, | 14 | | George Pradel swore in or promoted
371 officers to the | 15 | | Naperville Police Department; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, George Pradel never ceased his work on behalf of | 17 | | local children, helping bring the
DuPage Children's Museum to | 18 | | the city and participating in anti-cyberbullying videos; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Mayor George Pradel was devoted to all in the |
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| 1 | | Naperville community and participated
annually in many events | 2 | | for charities and health campaigns; he recruited children to | 3 | | ride in
his Big Wheel Brigade which participated in holiday | 4 | | parades; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Upon leaving office in 2015, George Pradel was | 6 | | awarded the title Mayor Emeritus
which allowed him to continue | 7 | | to represent his beloved city at local events; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Generations of Naperville families returned his | 9 | | love and devotion and honored him in
numerous ways, including | 10 | | renaming Safety Town, his proudest achievement, in his and his
| 11 | | wife's honor, erecting a sculpture of Officer Friendly greeting | 12 | | children, naming a park and a
street in his honor, and even | 13 | | selling a George Pradel bobblehead; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, For five decades, George Pradel personified | 15 | | Naperville; there wasn't anything that
George Pradel wouldn't | 16 | | do for Naperville or for a friend, and he considered everyone | 17 | | who lived
in town a friend; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, George Pradel will be greatly missed by his | 19 | | children Carol, Gary, and George, his six
grandchildren and | 20 | | four great grandchildren, and by all who knew him; therefore, | 21 | | be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 2 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 | | wish to express our deepest condolences to A. George Pradel's | 4 | | family, and we wish to
celebrate the life and countless | 5 | | contributions of this Naperville icon; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 | | presented to the Pradel family as an expression
of our deepest | 8 | | sympathy.
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