Illinois House honors conservative Tom Roeser

Sponsored by House Minority Leader Tom Cross and House Speaker Michael Madigan, HR 444 passed the Illinois House Tuesday to honor Illinois conservative icon, WLS-AM 890's Tom Roeser who passed away Sunday at age 82:

HOUSERESOLUTION

2       WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of

3   Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Tom

4   Roeser; and 

5       WHEREAS, Tom Roeser was born in Evanston in 1928; he was a

6   graduate of St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota;

7   and 

8       WHEREAS, Tom Roeser began his career covering politics in

9   Minnesota, where he became a research-publicist for the

10   Minnesota Republican Party; he subsequently served as an aide

11   to two United States congressmen and a governor; he later

12   returned to Chicago to launch the Quaker Oats Company's

13   government relations department in 1964 and continued his

14   education with post-graduate studies at DePaul and Loyola

15   Universities; and 

  16       WHEREAS, In 1964, Tom Roeser was named manager-public

17   affairs for the Quaker Oats Company; he was then promoted to

18   Director of Public Affairs in 1966, serving in that capacity

19   until 1969; he left Quaker temporarily to assume a role in the

20   federal government as assistant to the Secretary of Commerce

21   for Minority Enterprise from 1969 to 1970; he then recommended

22   the abolition of his own agency, which was a controversial

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1		challenge to the permanent bureaucracy, and was reassigned as
2		Director of Public Affairs for the Peace Corps, where he served
3		as a foreign service officer from 1970 to 1971; and
4		WHEREAS, In 1971, Tom Roeser returned to the Quaker Oats
5		Company, where he served as vice president of government
6		relations until his retirement in 1991; he subsequently
7		established the firm of Thomas F. Roeser and Associates, where
8		he represented a variety of clients in government relations; in
9		2007, he formed the Chicago Daily Observer, the city's first
10		internet-based five-day a week newspaper; and
11		WHEREAS, In 1994, Tom Roeser joined WLS Radio and became
12		the host of "The Tom Roeser Show"; he quickly became a valued
13		member of the WLS on-air lineup; he was heard primarily in his
14		regular Sunday night slot, where listeners could participate in
15		his radio 'plebiscites', weighing in on the political issues of
16		the past week, and look forward to the week ahead; and
17		WHEREAS, Tom Roeser was a senior correspondent and talk
18		show host for Catholic Family Radio, a network with outlets in
19		Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee; he
20		was also an occasional commentator on "Chicago Tonight" on
21		WTTW-TV; and
22		WHEREAS, Tom Roeser was a member of the American Federation

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1		of Television and the Radio Artists AFL-CIO; and
2		WHEREAS, Tom Roeser is survived by his wife, Lillian, and
3		his children, Tom Jr., Michael, Mary Catherine, and Jeanne;
4		therefore, be it
5		RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6		NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7		we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Tom
8		Roeser; and be it further
9		RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10		presented to the family of Tom Roeser as an expression of our
11		sympathy.