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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

  
 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened 
3to learn of the death of Peter James McLennon, who passed away 
4on January 27, 2023 at the age of 80; and
  
 
5    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon was the son of a physician and 
6attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary before graduating from 
7Fenwick High School; and
  
 
8    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon received undergraduate degrees in 
9history and statistics from the University of Illinois at 
10Chicago; and
  
 
11    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon's undergraduate education took him 
12eleven years and involved six other schools; he also spent 
13time as an Army drill sergeant in Louisiana and as a deckhand 
14aboard a Great Lakes freighter, the Edmund Fitzgerald; and
  
 
15    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon performed research for the 
16advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding and also advised on 
17policy and election procedures for former Cook County Clerk 
18David Orr; and
  
 
19    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon owned a printing company named 
20Otis, which is a name he shared with his brother Bob who 
 
 
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1founded the Wisconsin blues band, Otis and the Alligators; and
  
 
2    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon became the chief researcher for 
3Carol Mosely Braun in 1992 when he helped her lead a successful 
4campaign for the U.S. Senate; and
  
 
5    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon once bicycled alone from Texas to 
6Chicago in a test of fortitude and solitude; and
  
 
7    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon moved no further from Chicago than 
8Oak Park after marrying his wife, the late Phyllis Stepak 
9McLennon, though he never settled; and
  
 
10    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon and Phyllis once bought a 
11three-flat and moved three times, first into the building and 
12twice more in changing floors; and
  
 
13    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon's stories about life and his 
14experiences mixed merriment with scorn and scholarship; he was 
15never wrong about saints and medieval schisms; and
  
 
16    WHEREAS, Peter McLennon is survived by his two daughters, 
17Sarah and Paula McLennon; his son-in-law, P.J. Klapperich; 
18Piper, Skyler, and Oscar Klapperich; his sister, MaryEllen 
19Pollock; and his brother; therefore, be it
  
 
 
 
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1    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL 
2ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of 
3Peter James McLennon and extend our sincere condolences to his 
4family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it 
5further
  
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
7presented to the family of Peter James McLennon as an 
8expression of our deepest sympathy.