Political Quotes

“I rise today to pay tribute to a generous, genuine Illinoisan we lost this week. Those of us who have watched and listened to Chicago Cubs' games for some time can easily recall Harry Caray. His booming voice was instantly recognizable as the voice of the Cubs--and fans fondly remember his celebrations of their triumphs and his deeply felt sorrow at more than a few of their disappointments. Some of us may even recall his bright voice welcoming one of his closest friends to the broadcasting booth with the words: ``and here today, from Peoria, Pete Vonachen!'' I am sad to say that Pete Vonachen passed away--peacefully--this week. Pete was an enthusiastic, colorful, and memorable person. He loved Peoria, baseball, and the Cubs. You could tell that he bled Cubs blue--especially, as one friend explained, in 2005. That was the year that the White Sox won the World Series. After running a successful restaurant and making his name in the Peoria business community, he bought the local minor league team and struck an affiliation with his favorite Chicago team. The Peoria Chiefs soon had the highest attendance of any team in the Midwest League. A decade later, they renamed the ballpark they called home to Pete Vonachen Stadium. They even put a statue of him just inside the main gate of their new stadium. That statue was surrounded with flowers and baseballs placed by fans Monday night as the Chiefs took the field against the Quad Cities River Bandits.…”