SR0242 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0242 LRB104 13194 LAW 25340 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to congratulate John Patrick Collins on the occasion of his 90th birthday on May 7, 2025; and

WHEREAS, John Collins, the son of John Austin Collins and Alice Ann Connon Collins, was born in Chicago on May 7, 1935; he was baptized at St. Mel Catholic Church in Chicago on June 23, 1935; he graduated eighth grade from St. Mel/Holy Ghost Catholic School in 1949, where he served as an altar boy and a patrol boy; he attended Archbishop Quigley Prep Seminary High School in Chicago from 1949 to 1951; he graduated from St. Mel Christian Brothers High School in Chicago in 1953, during which he worked as a part-time copy boy for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1951 to 1953; and

WHEREAS, John Collins attended Christian Brothers College in Memphis, Tennessee in 1953, where he majored in history, before being drafted into the U.S. Army; he served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956, where he was stationed in Germany and Austria during the German Occupation post-World War II; after completing his military service, he attended DePaul University in Chicago on the GI Bill from 1957 to 1959, majoring in history and serving as a member of the Vet's Club; and

WHEREAS, John Collins married Kathleen M. O'Donovan at St. Giles Catholic Church in Oak Park on September 30, 1961, and they had three children; they celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in Hawaii in 1986 and their 60th wedding anniversary with a mass at Saint Paul of the Cross Church in Park Ridge and a blessing from the Pope on September 30, 2021; last year, they celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary, having built a life, family, and home in their time together; and

WHEREAS, John Collins was hired by the Chicago Police Department (CPD) in March 1959, initially being assigned to the Filmore District before being reassigned as a detective to the Crime Lab detail of the CPD, a position he held from March 1959 to 1968; he was promoted to sergeant in July 1968, being assigned to the Albany Park Station, 17th District; he was promoted to lieutenant in July 1971, being assigned to the Filmore District; he was then assigned to the Mass Transit Unit in 1973; he was promoted to captain in July 1976, initially being assigned to the 12th District for three months before being reassigned as watch commander of the 20th District in November 1976; he was assigned as acting commander of the 20th District in 1978; he was appointed district commander of the then-new 24th District in March 1979; he was assigned as a watch commander of the Albany Park Station, 17th District, in April 1981, and he then served in that same position at the Grand and Central Station, 25th District, in 1986; he served as watch commander of the 18th District from 1992 to 1994; he retired from the Chicago Police Department after 35 years in November 1994; he was called out of retirement to help solve a 1968 cold case by testifying in 2024; and

WHEREAS, John Collins is the husband of Kathleen Collins; the father of Colleen, Michael, and John; the grandfather of five; the grandfather-in-law of two; the brother of James Collins and Joanne (Thomas) Collins Ginley; the brother-in-law of Daniel, Patricia, Maureen, and Colleen O'Donovan; the uncle of many; a godfather; a cousin; and a friend; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate John P. Collins on celebrating his 90th birthday on May 7, 2025, and we wish him many more happy years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to John Collins as an expression of our esteem and respect.