Bill Text: IL SR1026 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of Thomas Oakley of Quincy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-11-16 - Resolution Adopted [SR1026 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SR1026-Introduced.html
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
| ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | ||||||
3 | to learn of the death of Thomas A. Oakley of Quincy, who passed | ||||||
4 | away on April 13, 2022; and
| ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley was born to Thomas C. and Mary | ||||||
6 | Susan Sullivan Oakley in Quincy on June 24, 1932; he attended | ||||||
7 | Quincy public schools and graduated from Quincy High School in | ||||||
8 | 1950; he graduated from Duke University in 1954 with a | ||||||
9 | bachelor's degree in Economics; following graduation, he | ||||||
10 | served in the Air Force Strategic Air Command as a pilot; he | ||||||
11 | married Anne McDonald in Raleigh, North Carolina on December | ||||||
12 | 22, 1954, and she preceded him in death in 2015; and
| ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, In 1958, Thomas Oakley returned to Quincy to | ||||||
14 | re-enter the family business of Quincy Newspapers, Inc., now | ||||||
15 | Quincy Media, Inc., as a fourth generation family member; in | ||||||
16 | 1968, he became president of the company following the death | ||||||
17 | of his father; as president/CEO from 1969 to 2008, he led the | ||||||
18 | company's growth from owning and operating the Quincy | ||||||
19 | Herald-Whig and WGEM AM-FM-TV to adding television stations in | ||||||
20 | several markets and one additional newspaper; he resigned as | ||||||
21 | president/CEO in 2008 but remained active in the company as | ||||||
22 | publisher of the Herald-Whig until 2017 and as a member of the | ||||||
23 | board of directors of Quincy Media until it sold its |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | television and radio stations to Gray Media and its newspapers | ||||||
2 | to Phillips Media in 2021; and
| ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley served on an untold number of | ||||||
4 | committees and organizations throughout his life; notably, he | ||||||
5 | helped found the Joint Industrial Development Commission | ||||||
6 | (JIDC), which was the predecessor organization to the Great | ||||||
7 | River Economic Development Foundation (GREDF); he was a member | ||||||
8 | of the Quincy University Board of Trustees and a member of the | ||||||
9 | National Association of Broadcasters' Board of Directors; he | ||||||
10 | served as a chairman of the Television Bureau of Advertising | ||||||
11 | and on a newspaper industry committee dealing with cross | ||||||
12 | ownership of television stations and newspapers; he also | ||||||
13 | served for over 40 years on the USGA Greens Section Committee; | ||||||
14 | and
| ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley was a strong advocate for the | ||||||
16 | United Way and for the construction of a new YMCA building in | ||||||
17 | 1970; he was also an active supporter of the Community | ||||||
18 | Foundation of Western Illinois and Northeast Missouri; and
| ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley spent over 60 years working on | ||||||
20 | highway development for the Tri-States as the region was | ||||||
21 | bypassed in the formation of the country's interstate system | ||||||
22 | in 1956; through his involvement and leadership, the region | ||||||
23 | ultimately has become the crossroads of three major highways |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | linking the tri-state region to the rest of the country; he | ||||||
2 | recently donated one million dollars to fund the Tri-State | ||||||
3 | Development Summit at Culver Stockton College to foster | ||||||
4 | further, ongoing regional development work; and
| ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley was recognized with many awards for | ||||||
6 | his community service, including being inducted into the | ||||||
7 | Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame and being the | ||||||
8 | first recipient of the annual Boy Scout community service | ||||||
9 | award;
he received lifetime awards from the Midwest Chapter of | ||||||
10 | the National Television Arts and Sciences, the Broadcasters | ||||||
11 | Foundation of America, the National Association of | ||||||
12 | Broadcasters, the Illinois Broadcasters Association, and the | ||||||
13 | Illinois Press Association; he was awarded an honorary degree | ||||||
14 | from Quincy University in 1975; a portion of the Chicago to | ||||||
15 | Kansas City Expressway was named the Thomas A. Oakley Highway | ||||||
16 | in 2009; and
| ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley loved spending time with his | ||||||
18 | family, especially at family events in Florida, Quincy, and | ||||||
19 | the upper peninsula of Michigan; he was an avid golfer who | ||||||
20 | traveled all over the world to play, including 20 years of | ||||||
21 | trips to Scotland; he was also a frequent hunter and boater; | ||||||
22 | and
| ||||||
23 | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley was preceded in death by his |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | parents; his wife; his son, Thomas C. Oakley II; his | ||||||
2 | son-in-law, Stephen Winters; his daughter-in-law, Lisa Smith | ||||||
3 | Oakley; and his two brothers, Peter A. and David R. Oakley; and
| ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, Thomas Oakley is survived by his son, Ralph; his | ||||||
5 | daughter, Mary; his grandchildren, Tom (Lesley) Van Ness, Ben | ||||||
6 | (Amanda) Van Ness, Allison (Dustin) Oakley Hall, Jonathan | ||||||
7 | (Mark Peacock) Van Ness, and Sullivan Oakley (Joseph Burg); | ||||||
8 | his step-grandchild, Jennifer Reekie (Don Krutmeier); his
| ||||||
9 | great-grandchildren, Olivia Van Ness, Liam Hall, Sterling Van | ||||||
10 | Ness, Cameron Van Ness, Anne Hall, Emma Van Ness, and Oliver | ||||||
11 | Hall; his step-great-grandchildren, Isla, Campbell, Cora, and | ||||||
12 | Ailsa Reekie and Brynn and Carter Krutmeier; his | ||||||
13 | sisters-in-law, Mary Oakley, Signe Oakley, and Mabel McDonald; | ||||||
14 | his brother-in-law, Ralph McDonald (Meg McLaurin); and several | ||||||
15 | cousins, nieces, and nephews; therefore, be it
| ||||||
16 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | ||||||
17 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
| ||||||
18 | Thomas A. Oakley and extend our sincere
condolences to his | ||||||
19 | family, friends, and all who knew and loved
him; and be it | ||||||
20 | further
| ||||||
21 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
| ||||||
22 | presented to the family of Thomas Oakley as an expression of
| ||||||
23 | our deepest sympathy.
|