Bill Text: IL HR0327 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Mourns the death of William "Bill" Cook, formerly of Canton.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Passed) 2011-05-06 - Resolution Adopted [HR0327 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HR0327-Introduced.html

---

HR0327 LRB097 11823 KXB 55116 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of William
"Bill" Alfred Cook, formerly of Canton, who passed away on
April 15, 2011; and
WHEREAS, Bill Cook was born January 27, 1931, to George
Cook and Cleo DeLong Orndorff Cook of Mattoon; he was born
during the hard-luck years of the Great Depression to a father
who sold magazine subscriptions and insurance policies to
farmers, but eventually took out a bank loan and bought two
grain elevators to trade grain on the Chicago Board of Trade;
and
WHEREAS, Bill Cook grew up in Canton, where he went to
public high school and after graduation attended Northwestern
University, where he drove a cab to help pay off tuition loans;
with an unbridled drive toward achievement, Bill Cook launched
a company with partners to manufacture and market disposable
hypodermic needles; and
WHEREAS, When Bill Cook severed his association with a
Chicago company, Bill and his wife, Gayle, moved to
Bloomington, Indiana, to create a new firm, Cook Inc.; by
moving past setbacks and industry competition, his company grew

HR0327 - 2 - LRB097 11823 KXB 55116 r
to become the world's largest privately owned medical device
company; and
WHEREAS, In addition to growing their medical device
company, he and his wife became revered leaders of the American
historical restoration movement, personally renovating dozens
of historic but dilapidated buildings, a passion that he would
later bring to his hometown of Canton; and
WHEREAS, Besides founding a company employing more than
10,000 people worldwide producing and marketing minimally
invasive medical devices, he would also go on to own a
world-renowned drum and bugle corps, the Star of Indiana, to
own a European championship basketball team, and to produce the
Tony and Emmy Award winning musical Blast; and
WHEREAS, Bill Cook, who became a billionaire through his
company, made it his company's mission to put patients first,
and that philosophy served the company well and fueled growth
for nearly a half century; the company, bearing his name, was
simply a means to an end for his generous philanthropic work
throughout the Midwest; and
WHEREAS, Bill Cook helped to revive industry in his
hometown of Canton; Bill spent a great deal of time in Canton,
especially during the last decade of his life; in Canton, Bill

HR0327 - 3 - LRB097 11823 KXB 55116 r
built a factory, bought and renovated the Fulton Square, was
constructing a hotel, and purchased the former Lewis Drug
Emporium, now a Sweet Shoppe with soda fountains similar to the
fountains that were there when he was a kid growing up in
Canton; and
WHEREAS, His service to his community and to the Midwest
were not without recognition; he served as an honorary Speaker
of the Indiana House of Representatives and was named the
Indiana Chamber of Commerce Business Man of the Year in 1999;
he received numerous awards for community service and historic
preservation, business and productivity; and the City of Canton
twice honored him for his restoration of thousands of trees
after a tornado devastated the town; and
WHEREAS, Bill Cook's legacy as a philanthropist throughout
the Midwest will serve as a permanent reminder of community
stewardship and corporate responsibility; and
WHEREAS, William Cook is survived by his wife, Gayle Cook,
and his son, Carl Cook; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
William Alfred Cook; and be it further

HR0327 - 4 - LRB097 11823 KXB 55116 r
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to the family of William "Bill" Cook as an expression
of our sympathy and esteem for his life and career.