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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of J. Michael "Mike" Zimmers, who passed
4away on October 5, 2022; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers was born in Chicago to William F.
6and Dorothy L. (Meeks) Zimmers on October 15, 1949; he
7graduated from Vienna High School in 1967 and earned his
8bachelor's degree at MacMurray College in 1971, where he was
9MVP and basketball captain his senior year; he married Nancy
10Severa at St. Wenceslaus Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on
11August 3, 1974; he received his master's degree in educational
12administration from the University of Illinois Springfield in
131991; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers began his teaching career as a
15behavior disorders middle school teacher in Park Ridge from
161974 to 1977; he moved to Springfield and worked as a behavior
17disorders middle school teacher for 13 years at
18Washington/Feitshans and Grant Middle Schools; he also coached
19girls' and boys' basketball and track; he began his
20administrative career as an assistant principal and athletic
21director at Washington and Jefferson Middle Schools for 15
22years from 1990 to 2005; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers served as principal at Jefferson
2Middle School from 2005 to 2008, where he started the first
3gender-based education program in Springfield and introduced
4the nationally recognized Behavior Intervention Support Team
5(BIST), a program still used in Springfield schools; in 2009,
6he was recruited to work as a managing principal for three
7years; he retired in 2011; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers ran for Springfield School Board
9#186 in 2013 and served over nine years as a member; he served
10for three years as board president and for three years as vice
11president; he was active on the Facilities Planning Committee
12and the city-wide Keep Kids in School effort every fall, to
13encourage immunizations; he also served with the One Sangamon
14Schools group, which organized a countywide school tax
15referendum that successfully passed a sales tax increase in
162018, benefiting nine county school districts; he was
17particularly pleased to be concluding his service on the board
18as the first major renovation projects for Springfield schools
19from that referendum were being completed this year and so
20many more were underway; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers' community activities include
22service as a classroom volunteer at Enos Elementary School, a
23reader for Real Men Read, and as a long-time member of the
24Interview Committee for the Physician Pipeline Preparatory

 

 

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1Program, a joint program with the SIU School of Medicine; he
2also volunteered for the United Way Education Vision Team, the
3Rotary International-Sunrise Chapter (past president), the
4Cherry Hills Homeowners Association (past president), the
5MacMurray College Alumni Board (past president), the Race
6Unity Council, and the Central Illinois Food Bank; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers' professional affiliations include
8the Council for Exceptional Children, the Springfield
9Principals Association (past president), the Springfield
10Education Association, the Illinois Education Association, and
11the National Education Association; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers was a long-time supporter of the
13Springfield Public Schools Foundation; he was in the process
14of establishing a new fund to support local Springfield school
15teachers, the Mike Zimmers Teacher Professional Development
16Fund, also known as the Mike Z Teacher Fund; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers was presented with the Bob Goldman
18Friend of Education award by the Springfield Education
19Association in April of 2022; he loved visiting schools,
20listening to administrators, going into classrooms, talking
21with teachers, interacting with students, helping with parent
22requests, serving as head timer for track meets, cheering at
23the City Tournament, and many other activities; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers was a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan; he
2enjoyed games at Wrigley Field and Sloan Park in Mesa,
3Arizona; he enjoyed working out at and supporting the
4Springfield Y, gardening and keeping his many bird feeders
5filled, and walking the family's Westie and his best buddy,
6Duffy; in 2014, he was named to MacMurray College's Athletic
7Hall of Fame, where he held the all-time single season rebound
8record; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers was preceded in death by his parents
10and his brother, Eric S. Zimmers; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Mike Zimmers is survived by his wife, Nancy; his
12daughter, Layne A. Zimmers (Lori Smith); his cousins, David A.
13Allbritten, Trina Kozer, Michael Accomondo, and Lisa
14(Accomondo) Keller; his extended family, including Nancy's
15sisters and their spouses, Sidney and Larry Lutz, Sara and
16Duane Tack, and Stacy (the late Dave) Martin; and numerous
17nieces and nephews and their children; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
19ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
20J. Michael "Mike" Zimmers and extend our sincere condolences
21to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be
22it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to the family of Mike Zimmers as an expression of our
3deepest sympathy.