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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Robert | ||||||
| 4 | Brent of Aurora, who passed away on May 5, 2016; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Robert Brent was born in Thackeray on February 20, | ||||||
| 6 | 1939; he moved to Aurora in 1946 and graduated from East Aurora | ||||||
| 7 | High School in 1957; he earned his bachelor's degree from | ||||||
| 8 | LaSalle Extension University of Chicago; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Robert Brent had a 28-year career with the Aurora | ||||||
| 10 | Police Department, the last 12 as Chief; he was the City of | ||||||
| 11 | Aurora's 21st Chief of Police, and one of the youngest police | ||||||
| 12 | chiefs in the United States to lead a department in a city the | ||||||
| 13 | size of Aurora; he was hired in 1961, promoted to Sergeant in | ||||||
| 14 | 1968, to Lieutenant in 1971, and to Captain in 1974; in 1966, | ||||||
| 15 | while he was still an officer, he was instrumental in the | ||||||
| 16 | police department's complete restructuring; as Chief, he | ||||||
| 17 | organized the first Special Response (SWAT) Team, oversaw | ||||||
| 18 | implementation of 911 service and computer-aided dispatch in | ||||||
| 19 | the city, planned and implemented the department's first cadet | ||||||
| 20 | program, and introduced several community initiatives | ||||||
| 21 | including Crime Stoppers and Neighborhood Watch; and | ||||||
| 22 | WHEREAS, Robert Brent retired on September 1, 1989, but | ||||||
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| 1 | continued to volunteer with many civic organizations; he also | ||||||
| 2 | worked as public relations director at Aurora's Alarm Detection | ||||||
| 3 | Systems for 15 years; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Robert Brent was especially proud of his 44-year | ||||||
| 5 | involvement with the Kiwanis Club of Aurora, where he had been | ||||||
| 6 | club President and Kiwanian of the Year; he was responsible for | ||||||
| 7 | the creation of Aurora's Golden Kiwanis Club and volunteered as | ||||||
| 8 | a Scout leader for many years; he was a lifetime member of the | ||||||
| 9 | Juvenile Protective Association and was active in the Illinois | ||||||
| 10 | and International Association of Chiefs of Police; he was also | ||||||
| 11 | involved in the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, | ||||||
| 12 | the former Mercy Center Foundation Board, and many other civic | ||||||
| 13 | and church clubs; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Robert Brent organized monthly Wednesday night | ||||||
| 15 | police retiree dinners at the old Pat's Pub in Aurora's West | ||||||
| 16 | Town Plaza; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Robert Brent is survived by his wife of 55 years, | ||||||
| 18 | Janice; his son, Mark Brent, and his wife, Kristen; his | ||||||
| 19 | daughter, Ann Marie Pawlisz, and her husband, Joseph; his seven | ||||||
| 20 | grandchildren; his sister, Beverly Williams; his brother, Gary | ||||||
| 21 | Brent; his brother-in-law, Richard Olson; and other relatives | ||||||
| 22 | and friends; therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 2 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 3 | mourn the passing of Robert Brent, and extend our sincere | ||||||
| 4 | condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved | ||||||
| 5 | him; and be it further
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| 6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | presented to the family of Robert Brent as an expression of our | ||||||
| 8 | deepest sympathy.
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