Record #: R2022-388   
Type: Resolution Status: Adopted
Intro date: 4/27/2022 Current Controlling Legislative Body:
Final action: 4/27/2022
Title: Tribute to late James R. Reilly
Sponsors: Burke, Edward M.
Attachments: 1. R2022-388.pdf

RESOLUTION

 

WHEREAS, James R. Reilly has been called to eternal life by the wisdom of God at the age of 77; and

 

WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of his passing by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and

 

WHEREAS, Jim is survived by his wife, Veronica Lynch; and

 

WHEREAS, Jim was born January 31,1945 in Springfield, Illinois where he attended high school, then moved to Jacksonville, Illinois in 1962; and

 

WHEREAS, He graduated from Illinois College in 1967 and from the University of Chicago Law School in 1972, and returned to Jacksonville and served as its City Attorney; and

 

WHEREAS, In 1974, Jim worked as an aide to State Representative George Burditt and taught in Winchester, Illinois; and

 

WHEREAS, Two years later, in 1976 Jim was elected as one of three representatives from the 49th District to the Illinois House of Representatives; and

 

WHEREAS, In 1984, Governor James R. Thompson appointed Jim as his Chief of Staff, and after a staff reorganization Jim was named Deputy Governor with a portfolio including budget development and legislative negotiations; and

 

WHEREAS, Governor Jim Edgar appointed Jim as his Chief of Staff for one year; and

 

WHEREAS, Starting in 1989, Jim was Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") for a decade of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the government agency known as McPier that oversees McCormick Place and Navy Pier where he oversaw renovations and expansion including development at the McCormick Place South Building and Hyatt Regency McCormick Place; and

 

WHEREAS, Jim served as Chairman of the Regional Transportation Agency from 2005 to 2010; and

 

WHEREAS, Jim then spent four years as CEO of what was then the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau and returned to McPier for a second term as CEO there from 2012 to 2015; and

 

WHEREAS, Jim and his wife Veronica were former owners and operators of the Sandpiper Inn in Union Pier, Michigan; now, therefore

 

 

BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members ofthe Chicago City Council, assembled this twenty-seventh day of April, 2022, do hereby commemorate James R. Reilly for his grace-filled life and do hereby express our condolences to his family; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy ofthis resolution be presented to the family of James R. Reilly.

Edward M. Burke Alderman, 14lh Ward