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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of Michael Francis Sweeney of Bloomington,
4 who passed away on February 22, 2010; and
 
5     WHEREAS, He was born August 14, 1941, in Bloomington, the
6 son of James "Tug" and Louise Rebmann Sweeney; he married Twyla
7 Balf on December 14, 1968; and
 
8     WHEREAS, He graduated from Trinity High School in 1959,
9 attended Illinois State Normal University for one year, and
10 graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1964; he was
11 drafted into the United States Army in 1964, and served for two
12 years; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Upon returning to Bloomington, he was employed at
14 State Farm Insurance Company until 1970, when he began working
15 for Bloomington Federal Savings & Loan as an appraiser, later
16 becoming vice president; he served on the board of directors
17 for the Appraisal Institute and served as vice president; he
18 also served as governor of the International Society of Real
19 Estate Appraisers, and he received the MAI and SRA designations
20 from the Appraisal Institute; and
 
21     WHEREAS, In 1986, he was elected to the McLean County board

 

 

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1 where he served for more than 20 years; during his time he
2 served as the chairman of the finance committee and was a
3 member of the legislative, property, and human services
4 committee; from 1992 to 2000, he served as the county vice
5 chairman, then moved on to serve as county chairman from 2000
6 to 2008, when he retired from the board; and
 
7     WHEREAS, His additional civic and community
8 accomplishments include being a member of the Economic
9 Development Council of Bloomington-Normal (1996-2008), the
10 Lincoln board of directors, the Crestwicke Homeowners
11 Association, and the Crestwicke board of directors; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Fulfilling a lifelong dream, he started his own
13 commercial appraisal business, Sweenz Inc.; he was employed
14 there until he retired in 2007, when his son, Jason Sweeney,
15 assumed ownership of the business; and
 
16     WHEREAS, In addition to his family, he loved the game of
17 golf; he believed that if you could master the game of golf,
18 you could master life; he was a two-time champion of the
19 Bloomington-Normal two-man Best Position Tournament and a
20 two-time champion of the Father-Son Golf Tournament in
21 Bloomington-Normal; in addition, he also won the Crestwicke
22 Country Club championship in 1975; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Throughout all his years of playing golf, he
2 achieved six holes-in-one; his love for the game of golf
3 provided him the opportunity to serve as a Golf Digest
4 selection panelist for more than 30 years, as well as his
5 accomplishment of playing 136 courses which were or are
6 currently on the Golf Digest list of America's 100 greatest
7 golf courses; in addition, he loved McLean County and the city
8 of Bloomington, where he was proud to live, work, and raise his
9 family; and
 
10     WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents and one
11 brother, James "Pork" Sweeney; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Michael Sweeney is survived by his wife, Twyla;
13 his children, Tammy (Rob) Fish, Mic (Susan) Sweeney, and Jason
14 (Leah) Sweeney; and his five grandchildren, Tristin (Ken)
15 Duffy, Luc and Mitchell Sweeney, and Michael Francis III and
16 Sophia Sweeney; therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
18 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
19 his family and friends, the passing of Michael Sweeney; and be
20 it further
 
21     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22 presented to the family of Michael Sweeney as a symbol of our

 

 

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1 sincere sympathy.