Full Text of HR0327 97th General Assembly
HR0327 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of William | 4 | | "Bill" Alfred Cook, formerly of Canton, who passed away on | 5 | | April 15, 2011; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cook was born January 27, 1931, to George | 7 | | Cook and Cleo DeLong Orndorff Cook of Mattoon; he was born | 8 | | during the hard-luck years of the Great Depression to a father | 9 | | who sold magazine subscriptions and insurance policies to | 10 | | farmers, but eventually took out a bank loan and bought two | 11 | | grain elevators to trade grain on the Chicago Board of Trade; | 12 | | and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cook grew up in Canton, where he went to | 14 | | public high school and after graduation attended Northwestern | 15 | | University, where he drove a cab to help pay off tuition loans; | 16 | | with an unbridled drive toward achievement, Bill Cook launched | 17 | | a company with partners to manufacture and market disposable | 18 | | hypodermic needles; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, When Bill Cook severed his association with a | 20 | | Chicago company, Bill and his wife, Gayle, moved to | 21 | | Bloomington, Indiana, to create a new firm, Cook Inc.; by | 22 | | moving past setbacks and industry competition, his company grew |
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| 1 | | to become the world's largest privately owned medical device | 2 | | company; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, In addition to growing their medical device | 4 | | company, he and his wife became revered leaders of the American | 5 | | historical restoration movement, personally renovating dozens | 6 | | of historic but dilapidated buildings, a passion that he would | 7 | | later bring to his hometown of Canton; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Besides founding a company employing more than | 9 | | 10,000 people worldwide producing and marketing minimally | 10 | | invasive medical devices, he would also go on to own a | 11 | | world-renowned drum and bugle corps, the Star of Indiana, to | 12 | | own a European championship basketball team, and to produce the | 13 | | Tony and Emmy Award winning musical Blast; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cook, who became a billionaire through his | 15 | | company, made it his company's mission to put patients first, | 16 | | and that philosophy served the company well and fueled growth | 17 | | for nearly a half century; the company, bearing his name, was | 18 | | simply a means to an end for his generous philanthropic work | 19 | | throughout the Midwest; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cook helped to revive industry in his | 21 | | hometown of Canton; Bill spent a great deal of time in Canton, | 22 | | especially during the last decade of his life; in Canton, Bill |
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| 1 | | built a factory, bought and renovated the Fulton Square, was | 2 | | constructing a hotel, and purchased the former Lewis Drug | 3 | | Emporium, now a Sweet Shoppe with soda fountains similar to the | 4 | | fountains that were there when he was a kid growing up in | 5 | | Canton; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, His service to his community and to the Midwest | 7 | | were not without recognition; he served as an honorary Speaker | 8 | | of the Indiana House of Representatives and was named the | 9 | | Indiana Chamber of Commerce Business Man of the Year in 1999; | 10 | | he received numerous awards for community service and historic | 11 | | preservation, business and productivity; and the City of Canton | 12 | | twice honored him for his restoration of thousands of trees | 13 | | after a tornado devastated the town; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Bill Cook's legacy as a philanthropist throughout | 15 | | the Midwest will serve as a permanent reminder of community | 16 | | stewardship and corporate responsibility; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, William Cook is survived by his wife, Gayle Cook, | 18 | | and his son, Carl Cook; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 20 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 21 | | we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of | 22 | | William Alfred Cook; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to the family of William "Bill" Cook as an expression | 3 | | of our sympathy and esteem for his life and career.
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