[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 145 (Thursday, September 27, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2003-E2004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    ON THE PASSING OF MR. BILL WIRTZ

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. J. DENNIS HASTERT

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 27, 2007

  Mr. HASTERT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the late William W. 
Wirtz. Bill was a kind and charitable man, who generously gave back to 
the people of Illinois throughout his life.
  Over 40 years, Bill was the President of the Chicago Blackhawks and 
chairman of the Wirtz Beverage Group, which operated in Illinois and 
the surrounding States.
  Bill also served as chairman of the Board of Governors of the 
National Hockey League for 18 years and was responsible for negotiating 
the merger between the NHL and the World Hockey Association in the late 
1970's as well as the expansion of the league. No one did more for 
hockey on both the professional and amateur levels than Bill. He served 
on both the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympic Committees. For his efforts on 
both the professional and amateur levels, Bill was inducted into the 
Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976, was the recipient of the Lester Patrick 
Trophy in 1978 and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 
1985.
  Under the guidance of Bill, Chicago Blackhawk Charities was 
established in 1993. Since that time, Blackhawk Charities has donated 
over $7.5 million to worthy causes in the Chicagoland area such as Boys 
and Girls Clubs, Cathedral Shelter, Miseracordia Homes, the 
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Blackhawk Alumni 
Association, and the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois, AHAI. Bill 
also donated both the Chicago Stadium and the United Center to host the 
Blackhawk Cup, the annual High School Boys and Girls State Championship 
Game, over the past 20 years.
  I would like to extend my most heartfelt condolences to Bill's wife 
Alice, his children Rocky, Gail, Karey, Peter and Alyson, and his seven 
grandchildren. Bill will always be remembered for his charity and 
goodwill towards the people of Chicago.

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