093_SR0033

 
                                     LRB093 04804 HSS 10906 r

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members  of  the  Senate  of  the  State  of
 3    Illinois  were  saddened to learn of the death of Gerald Owen
 4    Sweeney Sr. of Hinsdale on Friday, January 3, 2003; and

 5        WHEREAS, Mr. Sweeney was born in Chicago, and at the  age
 6    of  7  he and his brother were placed in a children's home in
 7    Bensenville following the death of  his  father;  his  mother
 8    reunited  the  family  when  he  was  in middle school and he
 9    graduated from Senn  High  School  in  Chicago;  he  attended
10    DePauw   University  in  Greencastle,  Indiana  on  a  Rector
11    Scholarship; and

12        WHEREAS, Mr. Sweeney joined the U.S. Navy and  served  as
13    PT  boat captain in the South Pacific during World War II; in
14    1945, he married his wife, Betty Ray; and

15        WHEREAS,  Mr.  Sweeney  worked  during  the   day   while
16    completing  his  law  degree  at  night  at John Marshall Law
17    School; in 1959, he formed Sweeney and Riman; he was  on  the
18    faculty  of  the  Illinois  Institute  for  Continuing  Legal
19    Education and was a former chairman of the Illinois State Bar
20    Association's  Commission  on  Worker's  Compensation Law; he
21    argued many cases before the Illinois Appellate  and  Supreme
22    courts in workers compensation proceedings; and

23        WHEREAS,  Mr.  Sweeney served as the village attorney for
24    Westmont in the 1960s; recently, he became  of  counsel  with
25    Garofalo,  Schrieber,  Hart  and  Storm  in  Chicago;  he  is
26    remembered as always being well-prepared, using his intellect
27    and   sense   of   humor   in  handling  sometimes  difficult
28    situations; until he was 80, he commuted to downtown Chicago;
29    he retired in 2000; and

30        WHEREAS, Mr. Sweeney was a member of  Ruth  Lake  Country
31    Club  and  a past president; he was an avid skier and owned a
 
                            -2-      LRB093 04804 HSS 10906 r
 1    home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado until  it  was  sold  two
 2    years ago; and

 3        WHEREAS,  The passing of Mr. Sweeney has been deeply felt
 4    by many, especially his wife, Betty Ray; his daughters, Susan
 5    McClelland and Becky Barton; his sons, Brian and Gerald  Jr.;
 6    his   brother,   Donald;   his   11  grandchildren;  and  his
 7    great-grandchild; therefore, be it

 8        RESOLVED, BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL
 9    ASSEMBLY  OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing
10    of Gerald Owen Sweeney Sr. and offer our deepest sympathy  to
11    his  family  and  friends,  who  fondly  remember  him as the
12    backbone of their family; and be it further

13        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
14    presented  to  the family of Gerald Owen Sweeney Sr. with our
15    sincerest condolences.