HR0287 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0287 LRB100 12277 MST 24887 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Richard C. "Dick" "The Big Kahuna" Weis, former Mayor of Freeport, who passed away on April 2, 2017; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Richard Albert and Dorothy (Hammer) Weis on April 27, 1936; he attended the Clark Street School and then the Gehnslen Orthopedic School through 1949; he then attended Craig School for seventh and eighth grades and graduated from Wauwatosa High School in 1955; he married Carolyn Mitton on November 24, 1956; he received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin in 1976; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis began a career in broadcasting at WRIT Radio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; he was a reporter for the Northwest Reporter in Milwaukee from 1956 to 1959; he was publisher of Teen Beat from 1959 to 1961 and served as an account executive at W-Rochester Institute of Technology Radio from 1961 to 1963; he went onto become the sales manager at WYLO Radio from 1963 to 1965, WUTU Channel 18 in Milwaukee from 1965 to 1970,; from 1970 to 1978 he was the General Manager at the Schlitz Broadcast Division of the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company, which owned the radio and television broadcast rights for the Milwaukee Brewers, Marquette University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee Bucks; he hired Bob Uecker, Tom Collins, Eddie Doucette, and Merle Harmon; from 1978 to 1981, he built Channel 24 WCGV-TV in Milwaukee from the ground up and began the country's first pay-per-view service in 1979; in 1981, he bought the radio station WFPS and was the owner of Weis Inc. in Freeport from 1981 to 1989; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis coached Concordia Jr. High and High School basketball from 1966 to 1970; he also coached the Concordia Jr. College basketball teams from 1973 to 1978, where he won the State Championship in the 1973-74 and 1977-78 seasons; he began Concordia's four-year basketball program for the 1978-79 season, and in his last year of coaching, the 1979-80 season, the Falcons had their second trip to the National Little College Tournament; he also assisted Concordia football coach Andy Luptak as receivers, defense backs, and special teams coach; many of his former players retained cherished friendships with him throughout his life; he also played on and managed Raabe Paint fast pitch softball teams through the 1979 season; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis is a member of the Concordia/Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, and is a member of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis is listed in Who's Who in American Broadcasting, Coaching, and Politics; he was a Paul Harris Fellow with the Freeport Noon Rotary Club; he was awarded the Rotary Club's Community Image Award and was named the Junior Chamber of Commerce Boss of the Year; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis served as Mayor of Freeport from 1989 to 1997; he worked with the National League of Cities and the United States Conference of Mayors; and

WHEREAS, After the passing of his first wife, Mayor Weis married Sandra Wallmo at Krape Park in Freeport on October 11, 2003; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis was named Volunteer of the Year by Martin Luther King Jr. Community Services in 1990 and Outstanding Citizen by Freeport International Fellowship in 1992; he helped with Muscular Dystrophy causes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1974, served as President of Crime Stoppers in Freeport in 1984, and worked with Greater Downtown Freeport in 1985; he was President of the Freeport Chamber of Commerce in 1986 and also served as President of the Noon Rotary Club; he was a volunteer for VietNow in 1990, served as a board member for the Illinois Municipal League from 1989 to 1990, and served as a board member of the American Leadership in 1994; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis spent 17 years soliciting mittens and caps for children, and one year filled two semis of food for the food pantry while sitting in an outdoor toilet; in 2011, he and his wife, Sandy, raised funds and established the Coach Weis Endowment Fund at Concordia University/Wisconsin, giving students with disabilities yearly financial aide at Concordia; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Carolyn; his daughter, Dawn Lenzke; and his sister, Joan Dieringer; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Weis is survived by his wife, Sandy; his daughters, Sandra (Scott) Summers, Debbie (Ken) Moore, Sherrie Larson, and Lorie (Conor) Arendt; his stepdaughter, Elizabeth Wallmo; his son-in-law, Jim Lenzke; 15 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; and many good friends; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Richard C. Weis, former Mayor of Freeport, 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 Mayor Weis as an expression of our deepest sympathy.