[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 157 (Monday, September 24, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6271-S6272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING A. GEORGE PRADEL

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, earlier this month, we mourned the loss of 
a wonderful public servant in Illinois. Naperville's mayor emeritus, 
Arthur George Pradel, passed away at the age of 80. He was a soldier, a 
policeman, a mayor, father, and friend.
  To some, George was ``Officer Friendly.'' Local radio called him the 
Nicest Mayor in the World. I just was honored to be one of his 
friends--but so was everyone around him. He had a supernatural ability 
to know everyone and always have time to say hi. George was 
Naperville's longest serving mayor, with a tenure of 20 years.
  When George was a small child, his family packed up from Chicago's 
Hyde Park and moved to Naperville in 1939. The town had just 4,500 
people at the time. When George finished his tenure as mayor in 2015, 
Naperville had grown to a population of 142,000.
  George graduated from Naperville Community High School in 1955 and 
served in the Marines as two of his uncles had done during World War 
II. After 3 years in the Marines, George came home to Naperville.
  George's dream job was to be the head of an orphanage, but in the 
1950s, the orphanage system had changed. Smaller group or children's 
homes and foster care had replaced much of it. George was in a bit of a 
quandary. A friend of his encouraged him to consider police work. When 
an opportunity at the Naperville Police Department came up in 1966, he 
applied immediately. It was a beginning of a 29-year career with the 
Naperville Police Department.
  There was just one small problem. George was not even 57" in height. 
Naperville Police Department required officers to be at least 511" at 
the time. After acing his interview with the Board of Police and Fire 
Commissioners, the board had to consider if they could let him into 
their ranks, even though he was too short. One of the board members 
asked a marine family member if someone like George could make it. The 
family member told him that anyone who could get through Marine Corps 
training could be a great police officer. The board agreed.
  George earned the nickname ``Officer Friendly'' in his almost 30 
years on the force by visiting schools and speaking to children. He 
wanted youth to understand that police were not to be feared, but they 
were there to protect them and give guidance. George worked to bring 
Safety Town, a miniature village where children learn pedestrian, bike, 
and railroad safety, to Naperville in 1977 and was the first police 
instructor. The ``town'' village now bears his name and that of his 
late wife Pat.
  George retired as a lieutenant when he was elected mayor, despite no 
previous political experience in 1995. He originally envisioned 
retiring from the police force and being a greeter at Walmart, but a 
bunch of residents asked him to run. He never really mastered the art 
of diplomatically saying no. George wasn't even planning to win the 
race, but all those children that knew him as Officer Friendly were 
adults now, and they voted for him. He was so surprised that he did not 
even have an acceptance speech prepared for when he won.
  As mayor, George continued being Naperville's greatest champion. His 
schedule was packed with events from collecting food for charity 
shopping events for Loaves & Fishes Community Services to charity 
dinners, fundraising walks, anniversaries, and graduations. He even did 
first flush ceremonies for toilets in a new building. When snow fell, 
he would hop in a city

[[Page S6272]]

plow and help out. Helping people and trying to make Naperville better 
was his nature.
  I used to kid him that he was my favorite Republican. I invited him 
as my guest to a State of the Union address in Washington awhile back, 
and he was a joy to be around.
  George always had time for people. His door was open to anyone. A 
Chicago columnist wrote a sarcastic piece about Naperville, and George 
invited him to tour the town and changed his opinion. His state of the 
city addresses had a flare to them, as he sported a tuxedo and silk 
tophat to present them.
  George loved Naperville and thought the best of it. When he stepped 
down from being mayor to spend more time with his wife in 2015, his 
successor invented the title mayor emeritus so George could still stay 
involved with the community and represent the mayor on occasion.
  In addition to Safety Town, a park, a street, and an Officer Friendly 
statue all bear George's name in Naperville. He even has a bobblehead 
in his likeness, which I own, too. Because George loved chicken wings 
and the lunch buffet, Braconi's Restaurant and Pizzeria has a room 
named after George. At Schmaltz's Deli, George is the only person to 
have a sandwich named after him. Why did all these places name things 
after him? Because they loved him the way he loved Naperville. 
Naperville will miss him, and so will I.
  George is survived by his children Carol, Gary, and George.

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