Bill Text: IL HR1262 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of George Pradel of Naperville.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-11-13 - Resolution Adopted [HR1262 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HR1262-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Naperville icon, A. George Pradel, passed from | ||||||
3 | this life on September 4, 2018, one day
before his 81st | ||||||
4 | birthday; and
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5 | WHEREAS, George Pradel was born in Hyde Park, but was a | ||||||
6 | lifelong resident of Naperville
after his family moved to town | ||||||
7 | in 1939 when he was two; and
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8 | WHEREAS, George Pradel graduated from Naperville Community | ||||||
9 | High School and then served his
country and community in the | ||||||
10 | U.S. Marine Corps; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Upon returning to Naperville, George Pradel began | ||||||
12 | working for the Naperville Police
Department in 1966, where he | ||||||
13 | quickly earned the nickname Officer Friendly for his love of
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14 | visiting local schools and teaching children about safety; and
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15 | WHEREAS, To bring his safety message home to local | ||||||
16 | children, George Pradel founded Safety
Town in 1977, a | ||||||
17 | miniature village dedicated to teaching about pedestrian, | ||||||
18 | bike, and railroad
safety; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Young George Pradel met Patricia Burke on a set-up | ||||||
20 | put together by his sister; they fell in love and were married |
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1 | in 1966; and
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2 | WHEREAS, George Pradel retired from the Naperville Police | ||||||
3 | Department as a Lieutenant when he
was elected to his first | ||||||
4 | term as Mayor of Naperville in 1995; and
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5 | WHEREAS, George Pradel served 20 years as Mayor of | ||||||
6 | Naperville, becoming the
city's longest-serving mayor; and
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7 | WHEREAS, During his tenure, Mayor George Pradel was a | ||||||
8 | tireless champion for his hometown; and
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9 | WHEREAS, To meet his growing city's needs, George Pradel | ||||||
10 | helped create Naperville's Senior
Task Force and new city | ||||||
11 | positions of Chairman of Chinese Outreach and Chairmen of | ||||||
12 | Indian
Outreach; and
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13 | WHEREAS, With safety always a paramount concern, as Mayor, | ||||||
14 | George Pradel swore in or promoted
371 officers to the | ||||||
15 | Naperville Police Department; and
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16 | WHEREAS, George Pradel never ceased his work on behalf of | ||||||
17 | local children, helping bring the
DuPage Children's Museum to | ||||||
18 | the city and participating in anti-cyberbullying videos; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Mayor George Pradel was devoted to all in the |
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1 | Naperville community and participated
annually in many events | ||||||
2 | for charities and health campaigns; he recruited children to | ||||||
3 | ride in
his Big Wheel Brigade which participated in holiday | ||||||
4 | parades; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Upon leaving office in 2015, George Pradel was | ||||||
6 | awarded the title Mayor Emeritus
which allowed him to continue | ||||||
7 | to represent his beloved city at local events; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Generations of Naperville families returned his | ||||||
9 | love and devotion and honored him in
numerous ways, including | ||||||
10 | renaming Safety Town, his proudest achievement, in his and his
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11 | wife's honor, erecting a sculpture of Officer Friendly greeting | ||||||
12 | children, naming a park and a
street in his honor, and even | ||||||
13 | selling a George Pradel bobblehead; and
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14 | WHEREAS, For five decades, George Pradel personified | ||||||
15 | Naperville; there wasn't anything that
George Pradel wouldn't | ||||||
16 | do for Naperville or for a friend, and he considered everyone | ||||||
17 | who lived
in town a friend; and
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18 | WHEREAS, George Pradel will be greatly missed by his | ||||||
19 | children Carol, Gary, and George, his six
grandchildren and | ||||||
20 | four great grandchildren, and by all who knew him; therefore, | ||||||
21 | be it
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1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
2 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
3 | wish to express our deepest condolences to A. George Pradel's | ||||||
4 | family, and we wish to
celebrate the life and countless | ||||||
5 | contributions of this Naperville icon; and be it further
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6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
7 | presented to the Pradel family as an expression
of our deepest | ||||||
8 | sympathy.
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