SR0132 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0132 LRB097 11269 GRL 53262 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of James Tyree; and

WHEREAS, James Tyree grew up in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago; he earned his bachelor's degree and his Master of Business Administration degree from Illinois State University; and

WHEREAS, James Tyree began his career at Mesirow, an employee-owned, diversified financial services company, in 1980; he subsequently became the company's CEO and chairman and helped build the private company into a $51 billion-asset firm with more than 1,200 employees in offices nationwide and in London; and

WHEREAS, James Tyree led an investment group that bought the Chicago Sun-Times for $26 million when the newspaper was floundering in bankruptcy court in 2009; and

WHEREAS, James Tyree had served on more than 50 civic and corporate boards, including the board of PrivateBancorp Inc.; he was active in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Executives' Club of Chicago, the Illinois State University Foundation, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the University of Chicago Hospitals; he also served as board chairman of the City Colleges system for 10 years; and

WHEREAS, James Tyree was a lifelong fan of the Chicago White Sox; and

WHEREAS, James Tyree is survived by his wife, Eve, and his children, Jessica, Matthew, and Joseph; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of James Tyree; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of James Tyree as an expression of our sympathy.