Full Text of SR1361 102nd General Assembly
SR1361 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Dennis Ray Whetstone of Carmi, who | 4 | | passed away on November 24, 2022; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Dennis Whetstone was born to Carl Ray Whetstone | 6 | | and Frances (Whitsitt) Whetstone in Carmi on December 27, | 7 | | 1953; he graduated from the Southern Illinois University at | 8 | | Carbondale; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Dennis Whetstone's career mostly centered around | 10 | | the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs | 11 | | (DCCA) in both streamlining and managing its programs at | 12 | | federal, state, and local levels; he oversaw federally funded | 13 | | programs created to develop and retain workforce opportunities | 14 | | in Illinois, including business financing, local government | 15 | | assistance, and job training; in the early 1980s, he played an | 16 | | integral part of the state delegation that traveled to Japan | 17 | | and negotiated with the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation to build | 18 | | the Diamond Star Motors auto plant in Normal; he was also | 19 | | instrumental in convincing Motorola, Caterpillar, and other | 20 | | companies to remain in Illinois under DCCA's job retention | 21 | | efforts; he was appointed as executive deputy director in the | 22 | | late 1980s, where he dedicated himself to improving economic | 23 | | development efforts throughout the State; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Dennis Whetstone left DCCA to serve under | 2 | | then-Governor Jim Edgar in 1994, where he developed and | 3 | | implemented workforce preparation and job training programs; | 4 | | he returned to DCCA as director the following year before | 5 | | becoming president and CEO of The Illinois State Chamber of | 6 | | Commerce; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Dennis Whetstone served on many task forces, | 8 | | boards, and commissions during his tenure in state government; | 9 | | he also co-taught one semester at Harvard University; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Dennis Whetstone was an avid golfer who possessed | 11 | | exceptional taste in wardrobe, movies, films, and music, and | 12 | | he was able to recall minute details of them all as well as | 13 | | people he had met; he was also a genius at trivia and crossword | 14 | | puzzles; he will be remembered for his genuinely kind and | 15 | | gentle nature; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Dennis Whetstone was preceded in death by his | 17 | | father; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Dennis Whetstone is survived by his mother; and | 19 | | his son, Cooper Whetstone; his daughter, Callie Whetstone; his | 20 | | brothers, Dale Whetstone and Kerry "K.C." (Christine) | 21 | | Whetstone; and his nieces and nephews, Blair Whetstone, Emily |
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| 1 | | Whetstone, Colt Whetstone, Spencer (Matthew) Taylor, and | 2 | | Stetson (Katy) Whetstone; therefore, be it
| 3 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 4 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
| 5 | | Dennis Ray Whetstone and extend our sincere
condolences to his | 6 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved
him; and be it | 7 | | further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
| 9 | | presented to the family of Dennis Whetstone as an expression | 10 | | of
our deepest sympathy.
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