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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 Tom
4Roeser; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Tom Roeser was born in Evanston in 1928; he was a
6graduate of St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, Tom Roeser began his career covering politics in
9Minnesota, where he became a research-publicist for the
10Minnesota Republican Party; he subsequently served as an aide
11to two United States congressmen and a governor; he later
12returned to Chicago to launch the Quaker Oats Company's
13government relations department in 1964 and continued his
14education with post-graduate studies at DePaul and Loyola
15Universities; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In 1964, Tom Roeser was named manager-public
17affairs for the Quaker Oats Company; he was then promoted to
18Director of Public Affairs in 1966, serving in that capacity
19until 1969; he left Quaker temporarily to assume a role in the
20federal government as assistant to the Secretary of Commerce
21for Minority Enterprise from 1969 to 1970; he then recommended
22the abolition of his own agency, which was a controversial

 

 

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1challenge to the permanent bureaucracy, and was reassigned as
2Director of Public Affairs for the Peace Corps, where he served
3as a foreign service officer from 1970 to 1971; and
 
4    WHEREAS, In 1971, Tom Roeser returned to the Quaker Oats
5Company, where he served as vice president of government
6relations until his retirement in 1991; he subsequently
7established the firm of Thomas F. Roeser and Associates, where
8he represented a variety of clients in government relations; in
92007, he formed the Chicago Daily Observer, the city's first
10internet-based five-day a week newspaper; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 1994, Tom Roeser joined WLS Radio and became
12the host of "The Tom Roeser Show"; he quickly became a valued
13member of the WLS on-air lineup; he was heard primarily in his
14regular Sunday night slot, where listeners could participate in
15his radio 'plebiscites', weighing in on the political issues of
16the past week, and look forward to the week ahead; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Tom Roeser was a senior correspondent and talk
18show host for Catholic Family Radio, a network with outlets in
19Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee; he
20was also an occasional commentator on "Chicago Tonight" on
21WTTW-TV; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Tom Roeser was a member of the American Federation

 

 

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1of Television and the Radio Artists AFL-CIO; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Tom Roeser is survived by his wife, Lillian, and
3his children, Tom Jr., Michael, Mary Catherine, and Jeanne;
4therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Tom
8Roeser; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10presented to the family of Tom Roeser as an expression of our
11sympathy.