[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 74 (Thursday, May 15, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S3065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING CAROL REITAN

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, if you drive into the charming, walkable 
town center of Normal, IL--yes, the town of Normal--you will see the 
beautiful Carol A. Reitan Conference Center. Who was Carol Reitan?
  Carol was the mayor of the Town of Normal from 1972 to 1976. For 
those of you who have been to Normal recently, you will note what a 
forward-thinking community it is--with a vibrant town center, a state 
university, an auto plant, and a high quality of life.
  It is a twin city with its slightly larger neighbor, Bloomington, 
which is home to State Farm Insurance and Illinois Wesleyan University, 
among so many other things. The area around Bloomington-Normal is some 
of the best farmland in the country.
  Carol Reitan, who was an early and effective community leader, passed 
away this week at the age of 83. But her legacy can be seen 
everywhere--in the people she helped and the community she served and 
helped prosper.
  Carol was ahead of her time, both as the first and only female mayor 
of Normal and because of her foresight as a community leader. If you 
talk to her friends in Central Illinois, you will quickly pick up on a 
common set of phrases--a visionary, a mentor, and a leader ahead of her 
time. I knew Carol, and those descriptions are all true--and just the 
tip of the iceberg.
  Her accomplishments and dedication to public service are vast and 
long-lasting--and certainly didn't end after her service as mayor. As 
mayor of Normal from 1972 to 1976 she first introduced a city-manager 
style of government. She was the cofounder and president of 
Collaborative Solutions, a nonprofit providing counseling and mediation 
services for at-risk youth and adults. She played leadership roles in 
establishing the Heartland Theater Company, Habitat for Humanity of 
McLean County, and the Community Foundation of McLean County. She 
helped with the development of the domestic violence shelter Neville 
House, and she served as director and chief executive of Mid Central 
Community Action.
  Her work earned many awards, including the Normal Chamber of Commerce 
Citizen of the Year in 1987, the Martin Luther King Jr. Award in 1987, 
and a McLean County History Maker award by the McLean County Museum of 
History in 2014.
  Carol and her husband Earl were also early visionaries when it came 
to the environment, starting Operation Recycle and building a solar 
powered home together, and she was an early supporter of the town's 
electric vehicle initiative. In Normal, you can use any number of 
public charging stations to charge your electric car. In fact, when you 
look at the growing network of charging stations around the country, 
one of the most important is in Normal. That is no accident.
  In 1990, Carol was appointed to the town's 2015 Commission, which was 
to consider goals for the next 25 years. A further stroll around the 
vibrant town shows the results--a children's museum, a multimodal 
transportation center that includes high-speed rail from Chicago, 
historic movie theater, shops, restaurants, a library, and a new hotel 
and conference center--all adjacent to Illinois State University.
  I met Carol many times over the decades and was always impressed with 
her many gifts that she gave back to the community. She was a leader. 
When she walked into a room, you could feel her leadership and 
presence. When I first ran for office in 1978 for Illinois Lieutenant 
Governor, she was making her second attempt to win an Illinois State 
senate seat at the same time. We both lost those races. And in 1996, 
when I first ran for the U.S. Senate, she was an early supporter. I 
will never forget her faith in my candidacy.
  Some on my staff have equally warm memories of Carol while growing up 
in Normal. One in particular is that she made a point of working with 
those who defeated her in her attempts to win a seat in the Illinois 
State Senate. We could use a bit of that role model here in the 
Congress today.
  Perhaps current Normal city manager Mark Peterson said it best as 
reported by Central Illinois radio station WJBC, noting:

       She was a visionary, probably born before her time because 
     she was thinking about things 20 and 30 years ago that are 
     happening in Normal now. . . . She had an impact on this 
     community--and I use that term broadly--Bloomington, Normal 
     and McLean County. . . . Few others have had that ability and 
     few others could rival.

  Central Illinois has lost someone truly special this week. My prayers 
and thoughts go out to her husband Earl, daughter Julie, and son Tom.

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