SR0585 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0585 LRB103 31669 ECR 60160 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Peter James McLennon, who passed away on January 27, 2023 at the age of 80; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon was the son of a physician and attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary before graduating from Fenwick High School; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon received undergraduate degrees in history and statistics from the University of Illinois at Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon's undergraduate education took him eleven years and involved six other schools; he also spent time as an Army drill sergeant in Louisiana and as a deckhand aboard a Great Lakes freighter, the Edmund Fitzgerald; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon performed research for the advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding and also advised on policy and election procedures for former Cook County Clerk David Orr; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon owned a printing company named Otis, which is a name he shared with his brother Bob who founded the Wisconsin blues band, Otis and the Alligators; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon became the chief researcher for Carol Mosely Braun in 1992 when he helped her lead a successful campaign for the U.S. Senate; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon once bicycled alone from Texas to Chicago in a test of fortitude and solitude; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon moved no further from Chicago than Oak Park after marrying his wife, the late Phyllis Stepak McLennon, though he never settled; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon and Phyllis once bought a three-flat and moved three times, first into the building and twice more in changing floors; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon's stories about life and his experiences mixed merriment with scorn and scholarship; he was never wrong about saints and medieval schisms; and

WHEREAS, Peter McLennon is survived by his two daughters, Sarah and Paula McLennon; his son-in-law, P.J. Klapperich; Piper, Skyler, and Oscar Klapperich; his sister, MaryEllen Pollock; and his brother; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Peter James McLennon and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Peter James McLennon as an expression of our deepest sympathy.