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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Edmund J.
4"Eddie" O'Connor of Lake Forest, who passed away on January 17,
52011; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Eddie O'Connor was born in 1925 and raised on the
7west side of Chicago; his father, William, was a Chicago
8policeman who originally hailed from Limerick, Ireland and his
9mother, Elizabeth, was from County Cork, Ireland; he worked his
10way through school as both an Andy Frain usher at Chicago
11sporting events and as a conductor on the elevated train
12system; he attended St. Ignatius College Prep before enlisting
13in the United States Marine Corps, where he served as a tail
14gunner on a dive bomber in the Pacific Theatre during World War
15II; he later attended DePaul University as an undergraduate and
16law student on the G.I. Bill; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Eddie O'Connor, along with his late brother,
18William "Billy" O'Connor, traded agricultural commodities at
19the Chicago Board of Trade ("CBOT") and started the O'Connor
20and Company clearing firm in 1959; Eddie and Billy O'Connor
21played key roles in the management of the CBOT for many decades
22and backed hundreds of local traders; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Eddie O'Connor was the driving force behind the
2creation of the Chicago Board Options Exchange ("CBOE") in
31973; the CBOE helped transform Chicago and the State of
4Illinois into a global trading center on par with New York,
5London, and Hong Kong; it was Eddie O'Connor's vision that made
6the CBOE a reality; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Eddie O'Connor was the beloved husband of the late
8Patricia O'Connor, nee Hoskins; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Eddie O'Connor was the loving father of Dan
10O'Connor, Chris (Roger) Lane, Patti (Michael) Mergener,
11Matthew (Trish) O'Connor, and Marty (Maureen) O'Connor; the
12dear grandfather of Kaitlin, Will, and Madeline O'Connor, Amy
13and Corry Lane, Jeremiah and Izzy Mergener, and Ned, Bridget,
14and Murphy O'Connor; he is also survived by his many nieces and
15nephews; his trusted family friend, Maria Diaz; and his many
16friends at Bob O'Link Golf Club; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
20Edmund O'Connor; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22presented to the family of Edmund O'Connor as a symbol of our

 

 

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1sincere sympathy.