[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 25 (Thursday, February 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    JOHN DILLON WAS THE FACE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN CENTRAL NEW YORK

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES T. WALSH

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 11, 1999

  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in 
paying tribute to a man whose passing has left my community, and our 
nation, with one less hero. Former Onondaga County Sheriff John Dillon 
died January 14, 1999 and Central New Yorkers will grieve the loss for 
a long time to come.
  The quintessential ``Irish cop'', John Dillon was known far and wide 
as a man of great humor, deep compassion and innate fairness. It should 
also be said that he was tough. Throughout his four-decade career, he 
was the epitome of the public safety provider. In fact, to many he was 
the face of law enforcement in Central New York.
  John Dillon was a personal friend, so I know his attributes well, 
among them natural leadership. He was greatly respected by the men and 
women in uniform.
  A devout Catholic and loving family man, John Dillon was fiercely 
proud of his Irish ancestry. When the Irish Ambassador at the time, 
Dermot Gallagher, visited Syracuse in 1997, it was John Dillon who 
regaled the Ambassador with the history of the West End of Syracuse, 
the home to many immigrant families.
  With great pride and his characteristic dry wit, John Dillon recalled 
the layout of the neighborhood and, using nicknames for the colorful 
characters of his youth, told a touching story of an entire generation 
of Irish immigrant families.
  He told of the Stonethrowers, the young men who defied city officials 
by repeatedly breaking the red light over the green on the traffic 
light at the main intersection of Tipperary Hill on the West End.
  Never would the English red sit atop the Irish green, he told 
Ambassador Gallagher with fervor. And today, he pointed out, the green 
sits atop the red in one traffic light in America, Tipperary Hill in 
Syracuse, the birthplace of John Dillon.
  The man we came to respect and so deeply admire served 25 years with 
the Syracuse Police Department before retiring as the First Deputy 
Police Chief. He was elected Onondaga County Sheriff later that year 
and held that post until retirement in 1994.
  I want to add my sincere condolences to John's wonderful wife Ginny 
and their children. And I ask my colleagues to join me in this moment 
of recognition for a public official who served his community well.

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