[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 54 (Thursday, April 28, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4536-S4537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING QUINCY, IL, MAYOR CHARLES W. SCHOLZ

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to tell you 
about a friend of mine.
  Chuck Scholz has three great loves in this world: his family, his 
faith and his community, Quincy, Illinois. On May 2,

[[Page S4537]]

after 12 years as Quincy's mayor, Chuck Scholz is stepping down.
  It was clear from his earliest days as mayor that Chuck Scholz was a 
leader. Days after he was sworn in, the Great Mississippi River Flood 
of 1993 deluged Quincy and many other towns up and down the 
Mississippi. Even when the flood waters made the bridges connecting 
Quincy to West Quincy, MO, impassable--leaving the region isolated--
Chuck Scholz never panicked. He led a relief effort that brought 
together Federal, State, and local resources. After the flood waters 
receded, he worked with communities in three States to lay the 
foundation for cooperative economic development efforts that continue 
to this day. He turned destruction and despair into focused 
determination. His influence on Quincy is so positive and so pervasive 
that today, many of us cannot think of Quincy or western Illinois 
without thinking of Chuck Scholz.
  Chuck is a compassionate public servant and a talented lawyer. He is 
also an avid Quincy historian. In 1994, he was able to relive an 
important chapter in Quincy's history when he welcomed President 
Abraham Lincoln to the city. Actually, it was a very convincing actor 
who was playing Lincoln in a re-creation of the famous 1860 Lincoln-
Douglas Presidential debates in Quincy. The debate was covered live on 
C-SPAN.
  Mayor Scholz also welcomed a living President to Quincy. Hours after 
President Bill Clinton delivered his final State of the Union Address 
in 2000, Air Force One touched down at Quincy's Baldwin Field, and 
President Clinton delivered a speech in Washington Park. That visit and 
so many other remarkable events--would not have happened without Mayor 
Scholz's leadership.
  The Scholz administration leaves an impressive list of 
accomplishments, from lowering property taxes to improving city 
services and enhancing public safety. Working hard and in a bipartisan 
manner, Chuck Scholz has made the ``Gem City'' shine even brighter. 
Quincy is a more prosperous, more vibrant, more beautiful, and more 
hopeful place than when he first became mayor.
  Chuck Scholz is proud of the sister city bonds he helped forge 
between Quincy and the cities of Hereford, Germany, and Jiaxing, China. 
He has hosted Presidents, bishops, Supreme Court Justices, and 
dignitaries from many nations. But his favorite conversations have 
always been with Quincyans. He loves chatting with local grade school 
students and rewarding them for good grades with one of his famous red, 
white, and blue bookmarks.
  Retiring as mayor will allow Chuck to spend more time with his wife 
Becky and his sons Charles and Jake. He will rediscover the law and 
maybe even spend a bit more time on the golf course or conducting the 
Quincy Park Band. But I know his service to his hometown will never 
stop.
  As Chuck Scholz prepares to begin this next chapter in his life, I 
wish him well and I join many others in thanking him for 12 years of 
remarkable service to his community.

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