RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Thomas P. Coffey 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, Tom is survived by his wife Alice, sons Matt and Tom Jr., a daughter Catherine Callahan, 10 grandchildren, brothers Kevin, Barry and Phil Coffey, and a sister Judy Coffey-Hedquist; and
WHEREAS, Tom was born on September 11,1944, the first child of John and Billie Coffey; and
WHEREAS, Growing up in St. Thomas More Parish, he graduated from Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary; and
WHEREAS, In 1966, he earned an English degree from Loras College, a Catholic, liberal arts school in Dubuque, Iowa where he met his wife Mary Alice Butler of Oak Park and married in 1968; and
WHEREAS, Tom studied law at DePaul University getting his law degree in 1968, then enlisted in the Marines serving as a JAG lawyer stationed in Okinawa; and
WHEREAS, Captain Coffey returned to civilian life in 1974, and joined the Law Firm of Kirkland & Ellis, where he specialized in antitrust law; and
WHEREAS, Tom also did work for the African-American Patrolmen's League, which brought him into contact with U.S. Representative Harold Washington, influential attorney and political insider Wayne Whalen, and Al Raby, former point man for Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Tom, Al, and Wayne were key masterminds in Mayor Washington's 1983 historic mayoral campaign; and
WHEREAS, After mayoral election in 1983, Mayor Washington appointed Tom as his point man to the City Council, Springfield, and the federal government, and became the architect of some ofthe administration's most notable accomplishments; and
WHEREAS, In 1986, Tom focused on creating a consulting firm, Haymarket Public Strategies which connects its clients to the stakeholders they need to achieve their goals; and
WHEREAS, To his beloved family, Tom imparls a legacy of generosity, compassion, devot...
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