Full Text of HR0422 103rd General Assembly
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened by the loss of former Illinois | 4 | | State Representative Donald Larry Wennlund, who passed way on | 5 | | May 15, 2022 at the age of 80; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund was born in DeKalb on October 31, | 7 | | 1941; he was a native of Illinois; he liked to be called by his | 8 | | middle name, Larry; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund's father, Donald Wennlund, and his | 10 | | family moved to New Lenox; the Will County community was on the | 11 | | verge of what would be a period of explosive growth as part of | 12 | | greater Chicago; seeing these changes, and working with his | 13 | | friends in the New Lenox Lions Club, the senior Wennlund | 14 | | developed a patriotism-themed system of New Lenox public | 15 | | signage and Fourth of July celebration; this system, starting | 16 | | on July 4, 1970, helped make New Lenox the "Home of Proud | 17 | | Americans"; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund was inspired by the Wennlund family | 19 | | and its example; pursuing schooling and higher education, he | 20 | | earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the | 21 | | University of Illinois in 1964; after working as a teacher, he | 22 | | attended law school at the University of Illinois Chicago |
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| 1 | | School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor in 1968; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund then passed the bar exam and was | 3 | | licensed to practice law in Illinois; he chose his hometown of | 4 | | New Lenox as a base for his practice and served Will County for | 5 | | more than half a century; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund, as a professional with teaching | 7 | | experience, was chosen by his neighbors to serve as a member of | 8 | | the board of New Lenox School District #122 and became | 9 | | president of the school board; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund was chosen by Republican leaders to | 11 | | fill a vacancy in the Illinois House of Representatives; when | 12 | | an Illinois congressional seat became open in mid-1986, the | 13 | | longtime Illinois House member from the 84th Representative | 14 | | District, Republican Jack Davis, moved to the U.S. House of | 15 | | Representatives; Davis had won his March 1986 re-election | 16 | | primary, and this move created an Illinois House vacancy that, | 17 | | under law, was filled by Republican leaders within the | 18 | | district; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund was chosen by the voters of the | 20 | | 84th Representative District by a margin of more than 1,100 | 21 | | votes to serve his first full term in the Illinois House on | 22 | | November 4, 1986; he served five terms from the 85th through |
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| 1 | | 89th General Assemblies; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund became a committee spokesperson in | 3 | | his second term as a state representative, chosen to lead the | 4 | | Republicans in the House Committee on Aeronautics in 1989-90; | 5 | | he became the Republican spokesperson on the House Judiciary - | 6 | | Civil Law Committee in his third term; he also served as House | 7 | | Republican assistant floor leader; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund became an Illinois House Assistant | 9 | | Minority Leader in his fourth term and was part of the Illinois | 10 | | House Republican leadership team; when the Republicans won a | 11 | | House majority in the 89th General Assembly for the year 1995 | 12 | | and 1996, he became the Illinois House Assistant Majority | 13 | | Leader; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund put his family and his home | 15 | | community of New Lenox first throughout his career; he chose | 16 | | not to seek re-election to the Illinois House of | 17 | | Representatives in 1996; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Wennlund, as a local leader and proud | 19 | | citizen of New Lenox, returned to his hometown and continued | 20 | | to practice law; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, At the time of his passing, Rep. Wennlund was |
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| 1 | | survived by his wife of 58 years, Shirley Ann Major Wennlund; | 2 | | his four children, Jayna DeAngelis, Cass Wennlund, Dr. Joelle | 3 | | Wennlund, and Kara Singer; and many grandchildren and | 4 | | great-grandchildren; therefore be it; therefore, be it | 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 6 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 7 | | we mourn the loss and observe the life of former Illinois State | 8 | | Representative Donald Larry Wennlund, a dedicated lawyer and a | 9 | | local leader in every sense of the word; and be it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to Rep. Wennlund's son, Cass Wennlund of New Lenox, | 12 | | on behalf of the entire Wennlund family. |
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