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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois
3 learned with regret of the death of John Chonko of Downers
4 Grove on Friday, May 6, 2005; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Born in Stockbridge, Wisconsin, to parents who
6 emigrated from the Ukraine, Mr. Chonko moved to Downers Grove
7 when he was young and graduated from Downers Grove Community
8 High School in 1943; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Mr. Chonko valiantly served his country during
10 World War II as a member of the U.S. Army Air Forces; and
 
11     WHEREAS, He attended North Central College in Naperville,
12 graduating in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in business
13 administration; he first worked in the insurance business, but
14 in 1951, he was hired as the first manager of a fledging credit
15 union, which had been run by volunteers at Argonne, near
16 Lemont; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Two years after he started at the Argonne National
18 Laboratory Credit Union in 1951, Mr. Chonko became president;
19 for the next 39 years, he helped the institution grow from
20 initial assets of $6,700 and 226 members to resources that
21 exceeded $80 million and 10,000 members; during his tenure, the
22 credit union expanded to include a branch at Fermi National
23 Accelerator Laboratory, near Batavia, and at a laboratory run
24 by the University of Chicago for the Department of Energy in
25 Idaho; and
 
26     WHEREAS, The passing of John Chonko has been deeply felt by
27 many, especially his wife, Carolyn, whom he married in 1948;
28 his daughter, Cheri; his sons, Curtis and Glen; and his two
29 grandchildren; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
2 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
3 John Chonko, a man who enjoyed helping people and never shirked
4 his responsibilities; and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to his family as an expression of our sincerest
7 condolences.