[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 7 (Tuesday, February 5, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H118-H119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MOURNING THE PASSING OF WAUKEGAN MAYOR DAN DREW

  (Mr. KIRK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the life of Dan Drew, our 
mayor of Waukegan, Illinois. Dan died of a heart attack, and he was 
only 53 years old.
  Last year, Dan ran for mayor. It was a hotly fought contest. He won 
by the slimmest of margins, six votes. He took over a city beset with 
problems, environmental cleanups, the loss of key industries, a crisis 
of confidence in the city administration. But Dan proved he was the 
right leader for these challenges. He brought confidence, commitment, 
and boundless energy as mayor. Despite his narrow victory, he became a 
mayor of all of Waukegan and showed us that the city faced better days 
ahead.
  I worked with Dan only a short time. After one city meeting I said 
that all I needed from his office was a mayor ready to quickly sign any 
Federal grant application that could benefit

[[Page H119]]

Waukegan. He replied, ``My pen is ready.'' I can count at least seven 
major projects we were working on for the city of Waukegan.
  Mayor Drew's sudden death shocked us all. It was only after he passed 
away that I learned about his long struggle with diabetes. Tall, 
skinny, and with a quick smile, Dan looked the picture of health as he 
led Waukegan down Sheridan Road in the Fourth of July parade. His 
fellow Bears season ticket holders sent a wreath to his wake that said, 
``Good-bye, Slim.''
  Dan's family will bury him today in a sad funeral. The crowd at last 
night's wake stretched around the church many times. We will sorely 
miss Dan's smile and humor. He became Waukegan's brightest political 
star. All of us, his fellow Democrats, we Republicans, white, African 
Americans, Hispanics, young and old, will miss him. Dan Drew was the 
right man for the right job who left us at the wrong time.
  On behalf of Congress, I want to express my sorrow to his wife and 
family and the people of Waukegan. Our mission now is to pick up from 
his vision for the city as we see it through as Dan would have wished.

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