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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Oak Brook Fire
4 Department Chief Jim Bodony on the occasion of his retirement
5 on March 13, 2009; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Chief Jim Bodony received his associate's degree
7 in Fire Science from the College of DuPage in 1970 and his
8 bachelor's degree in Fire Service Management from Lewis
9 University in June of 1975; he was appointed to the Lewis
10 University Fire Science Advisory Board in 1976; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Chief Jim Bodony began his career with the Oak
12 Brook Fire Department on June 16, 1972; he went to Oak Brook
13 following his discharge from the military, having served in the
14 United States Air Force, where he was assigned to the Air Force
15 Firefighting School at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Chief Jim Bodony was promoted to the rank of
17 Lieutenant in January of 1982; he was named Department Training
18 Officer in May of 1991; he was then promoted to Captain in
19 February of 1994 and to Battalion Chief in January of 2003; he
20 was named Chief of the Department in July of 2005; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Chief Jim Bodony has seen the Department grow and

 

 

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1 expand in the level of service it provides to the community
2 during his more than three and a half decade career; during the
3 early 1970s, the Department consisted of a small group of
4 career firefighters supplemented by a sizable group of
5 volunteers, many of whom were Franciscan Brothers from the St.
6 Pascal Friary; he, along with other members of the Department,
7 built fire trucks for the Department out of a used oil tank
8 truck and a used Public Works pickup truck; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Chief Jim Bodony was one of the first firefighters
10 to be trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and was
11 assigned to the ambulance when the Department took over
12 operation of the Village ambulance service, a service
13 previously done by the Police Department; he was in the first
14 group of Illinois firefighters to train and become State
15 Certified and taught one of the first State Certification
16 programs for Fire Apparatus Engineers, which was conducted in
17 Oak Brook; throughout his career, he has been instrumental in
18 the Department's Training program, teaching many classes and
19 drills, mentoring new firefighters, and teaching classes
20 around the State; he initiated and supervised the installation
21 of a Village-wide Emergency Vehicle Traffic Signal Pre-emption
22 system at all traffic signals in Oak Brook; he was tasked with
23 authoring the first written disaster plan for the Village and
24 developed the first box card system for the Department to
25 provide for an orderly method of securing mutual aid from

 

 

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1 neighboring fire departments; and
 
2     WHEREAS, As a company officer and later Shift Commander,
3 Chief Jim Bodony served in every aspect of the Department's
4 operations, including firefighting, auto extrication,
5 emergency medical care, fire inspection, public education,
6 training and administration; as Chief, he continued the
7 Department's mission of maintaining a highly trained staff
8 delivering excellent service to the community on every call;
9 and
 
10     WHEREAS, Chief Jim Bodony has served on the Executive Board
11 of the DuPage County Fire Chief's Association and the Board of
12 MABAS Division 12, a part of the State-wide fire mutual aid
13 organization; he is a member of the International Association
14 of Fire Chiefs, The Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, and the
15 DuPage County Fire Chiefs Association; he is also an active
16 member of the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company in his home
17 town of Glen Ellyn, where he resides with his wife, Lynne;
18 therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
21 congratulate Jim Bodony on the occasion of his retirement and
22 wish him many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it
23 further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Jim Bodony as a symbol of our esteem and respect.