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SENATE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to  
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learn of the death of
George E. Sangmeister of Mokena, who 
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passed away on October 7, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, George Sangmeister served in  the United States 
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Army during the Korean War; and

 
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    WHEREAS, George Sangmeister began his public career in 
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1961, serving as a Justice of the Peace and Magistrate of the 
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Circuit Court in Will County;  he served as State's Attorney in 
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Will County from 1964 to 1968; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1972, George Sangmeister was elected to the 
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Illinois State House of Representatives, where he served  for 
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two terms; he returned to Springfield as an Illinois State 
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Senator, serving from 1976 until 1987; during his tenure in the 
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Illinois State Senate, he served as both chairman of the Senate 
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Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Senate Executive 
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Committee; and

 
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    WHEREAS, George Sangmeister was elected to the United 
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States Congress in November of 1988 and was one of only eight 
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new members to unseat an incumbent;  he was re-elected to the 
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House of Representatives in 1990 and again in 1992;  as a 
 


 






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congressman, he served on the Public Works and Transportation 
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Committee, the Veteran's Affairs Committee, and the Judiciary 
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Committee; he retired from Congress in January of 1995; and

 
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    WHEREAS, George Sangmeister was consistently endorsed for 
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re-election by local and Chicago media outlets and was named 
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one of the "Top Ten Legislators" in a 1985 poll conducted by 
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the Chicago Sun-Times; and
 
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    WHEREAS, George Sangmeister was "Of Counsel" with the firm 
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of McKeown, Fitzgerald, Zollner, Buck, Hutchison & Ruttle; and
 
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    WHEREAS, George Sangmeister was a member of many civic 
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organizations, including  the Frankfort Unit of the American 
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Cancer Society, the Silver Cross Hospital Foundation Board, the 
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American Legion, and the Frankfort Lions Club; he was a member 
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and former Chairman of the Support Committee for the Abraham 
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Lincoln National Cemetery;  he was a former member of the Board 
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of Directors of Joliet Junior College Foundation;  he also 
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served as Chairman of the Housing Foundation of Will County, an 
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organization that served the homeless and those in need of 
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affordable housing; and
 
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    WHEREAS, George Sangmeister received many awards and 
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accolades in recognition of his public service; he was the 
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recipient of the Alumnus of the Year Award from Elmhurst 
 


 






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College and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from John Marshall 
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Law School;  he also received the Alumnus Achievement Award from 
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Joliet Junior College and the Distinguished Service Award from 
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the Will County Educational Service Region;  he was named in 
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Who's Who in the Midwest; he was the chairman of the committee 
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that planned the transfer of the Joliet Arsenal from military 
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to civilian use and  personally designated the committee to 
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allocate almost 1,000 acres as the site for the  Abraham Lincoln 
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National Cemetery;   in 1993, he was conferred with the Degree of 
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Doctorate of Humanities, Honoris, Causa, by Lewis University; 
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in 1994, he received a Doctorate of Law from Elmhurst College;  
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in 1998, a Medal of Excellence was created in his honor by 
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Silver Cross Hospital; and
 
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    WHEREAS, George Sangmeister is survived by his wife, Doris 
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M. (nee Hinspeter); his children, George Kurt (Gina) 
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Sangmeister and Kimberly Ann (Chris) Puckett; his 
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grandchildren, Jordan, Cole, Keegan, and Kinzie; and his 
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numerous cousins; and
 
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    WHEREAS, George Sangmeister will be remembered by all who 
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knew and loved him as  a true statesman who effectively combined 
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cordiality with directness in a way that enabled him to stay 
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true  to his positions without alienating his constituents or 
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his political foes; therefore, be it

 
 


 






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    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL 
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ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with 
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his family and friends, the passing of George Sangmeister; and 
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be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of George Sangmeister as an expression 
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of our sympathy.