HR0844LRB102 27369 LAW 39158 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Bob
4Chinn, who passed away in April 2022; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Bob Chinn was born to Wai and Yung Shee Ong Chinn
6in Duluth, Minnesota on March 2, 1923; as a young boy, he moved
7to Chicago during the Great Depression, where his family owned
8the Uptown restaurant New Wilson Village; he left high school
9and joined the U.S. Army during World War II, where he served
10as part of the 46th Field Artillery Battalion outside of
11Belfast, Northern Ireland for three years; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Bob Chinn was an American restaurateur; his first
13job was delivering food on foot for another restaurant at the
14age of 14; after the war, he started a number of his own
15businesses in the restaurant industry; his first business was
16supplying patterned plates to Chinese restaurants; from there,
17he then began selling equipment, remodeling, and eventually
18helping his family members open restaurants; he and his
19daughter, Marilyn, began traveling around the country in 1978,
20conducting research for the Midwestern seafood restaurant he
21had envisioned for some time; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Bob Chinn and his daughter negotiated the

 

 

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1purchase of a shuttered building on Milwaukee Avenue in
2Wheeling after years of planning and development, where, two
3days before Christmas in 1982, he opened Bob Chinn's Crab
4House, his 14th and most successful restaurant; over the
5years, his restaurant has expanded and grown from 250 seats to
6700 seats, serving on average 2,500 meals a day with a
7300-strong staff; his restaurant was named the top grossing
8restaurant in America by Forbes magazine in August 2012 with
9an estimated $24 million in annual revenue; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Bob Chinn was known for his brassy, gregarious,
11and outsized personality; he enjoyed watching baseball games,
12horse racing, films, and live theater and was a voracious
13reader; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Bob Chinn was preceded in death by his wife of 62
15years, Jean Chinn, and his daughter, Barbara Chinn; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Bob Chinn is survived by his brother, Howard
17Chinn; his daughter, Marilyn Chinn LeTourneau; his son,
18Michael Chinn; his seven grandchildren; and his 10
19great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
21HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
22we mourn the passing of Bob Chinn and extend our sincere

 

 

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1condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
2him; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4presented to the family of Bob Chinn as an expression of our
5deepest sympathy.