Bill Text: IL SR0875 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the passing of Alan L. "Al" Larson, the former and longest-serving Mayor of the Village of Schaumburg.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-04-12 - Resolution Adopted [SR0875 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SR0875-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | ||||||
3 | to learn of the death of Alan L. "Al" Larson, the former and | ||||||
4 | longest-serving Mayor of the Village of Schaumburg, who passed | ||||||
5 | away on March 19, 2024; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Al Larson was born on October 21, 1938; he and his | ||||||
7 | family moved to Schaumburg in the late 1960s; he earned an | ||||||
8 | Associate of Science from William Rainey Harper College in | ||||||
9 | Palatine; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Al Larson began serving the Village of Schaumburg | ||||||
11 | in 1973, when he was appointed public relations director and | ||||||
12 | as a member of the village's first Environmental Committee; he | ||||||
13 | was next appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals and was named | ||||||
14 | chairman of the Environmental Committee in 1974; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Al Larson began his political tenure as a village | ||||||
16 | trustee of Schaumburg in 1975, a position he held across three | ||||||
17 | terms for a total of 12 years; he reintroduced and revitalized | ||||||
18 | the concept of a Schaumburg Historic District to aid in the | ||||||
19 | preservation of historic buildings, leading to the | ||||||
20 | establishment of the Olde Schaumburg Centre Historic District; | ||||||
21 | during his tenure, he also co-founded the Spring Valley Nature | ||||||
22 | Sanctuary, and he received the 1976 Environmental Award from |
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1 | the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for his efforts, | ||||||
2 | becoming one of only two locally elected officials to receive | ||||||
3 | the award; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Al Larson served as Mayor of the Village of | ||||||
5 | Schaumburg for eight terms from 1987 to 2019; he led many | ||||||
6 | development projects in the retail, residential, and | ||||||
7 | commercial sectors, significantly raising Schaumburg's profile | ||||||
8 | locally and nationally; he spearheaded the initiative for the | ||||||
9 | village to acquire the privately-owned Schaumburg Airpark as a | ||||||
10 | public airfield in 1994, known today as the Schaumburg | ||||||
11 | Regional Airport; he oversaw the village's acquisition of Town | ||||||
12 | Square Shopping Center in 1995; he built collaborative | ||||||
13 | relationships with local government partners, bringing a | ||||||
14 | professional baseball team to the village in 1999; he also | ||||||
15 | supervised the village's acquisition of a previously | ||||||
16 | underproductive tract of land on Schaumburg's northeast side | ||||||
17 | that became the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel | ||||||
18 | in 2016; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Al Larson was also instrumental in broadening | ||||||
20 | cultural programming through helping launch the annual Prairie | ||||||
21 | Arts Festival, initiating the development of a theater | ||||||
22 | workshop for young people, promoting the development of the | ||||||
23 | Schaumburg Youth Orchestra, and pushing for the establishment | ||||||
24 | of a youth ballet troupe that led to the founding of the |
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1 | Schaumburg Dance Ensemble; in recognition of his achievements | ||||||
2 | in the arts, the Prairie Center was renamed the Al Larson | ||||||
3 | Prairie Center for the Arts in his honor in 2017; after | ||||||
4 | finishing his service as mayor in 2019, he was appointed to the | ||||||
5 | village's 1% for Art Committee and Cultural Commission, where | ||||||
6 | he continued to serve until his passing, and he helped fund the | ||||||
7 | Prairie Center Arts Foundation's Young Artist Assistance | ||||||
8 | Program in 2020; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Al Larson held leadership positions in several | ||||||
10 | organizations, which included serving as past president and | ||||||
11 | vice president of the Illinois Municipal League, chair of | ||||||
12 | Joint Action Water Agency, co-chair of the STAR Line Steering | ||||||
13 | Committee, and past president of the Northwest Municipal | ||||||
14 | Conference, where he also served as a member of the executive | ||||||
15 | board and as past chair of the Transportation Committee; he | ||||||
16 | served on the boards of Arts Alliance Illinois, the Chicago | ||||||
17 | Area Transportation Study, the Illinois Public Airports | ||||||
18 | Association, and PACE; he was a member of the O'Hare Noise | ||||||
19 | Compatibility Commission, the Council of Mayors, and the | ||||||
20 | Transportation Infrastructure and Services Steering Committee | ||||||
21 | for the National League of Cities; he also served on the | ||||||
22 | 15-member Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and its | ||||||
23 | executive committee, charged with integrating land use and | ||||||
24 | transportation planning for the 7-county area of northeastern | ||||||
25 | Illinois; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Al Larson was known for his mentorship, charisma, | ||||||
2 | and love for Schaumburg; he will be remembered as a visionary | ||||||
3 | who dedicated more than 45 years of his life to serving | ||||||
4 | Schaumburg, ensuring its future for generations to come; | ||||||
5 | therefore, be it
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6 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
7 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
8 | Alan L. "Al" Larson, the former and longest-serving Mayor of | ||||||
9 | the Village of Schaumburg, and extend our sincere condolences | ||||||
10 | to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be | ||||||
11 | it further
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