[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E48-E49]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE RETIREMENT OF THE MAYOR OF DEARBORN, JOHN B. ``JACK'' 
                             O'REILLY, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DEBBIE DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 19, 2022

  Mrs. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Former Mayor 
John O'Reilly on the occasion of his retirement from the City of 
Dearborn, Michigan, where he has honorably served its citizens in 
various capacities for past three decades. His significant 
contributions to our community are worthy of commendation.
  Mr. O'Reilly graduated from St. Alphonsus High School in Dearborn, 
attended Oakland University, and earned his law degree from the 
University of Detroit. He has been a mainstay in Dearborn and 
throughout the State of Michigan during his celebrated career in public 
service and has followed in the footsteps of his father John B. 
O'Reilly, Sr., who served as Dearborn's fourth mayor. Mr. O'Reilly 
began his career in public service as staff counsel

[[Page E49]]

and district director for Congressman John D. Dingell, then as a chief 
of staff in the Michigan State Senate, and in serving as the Executive 
Director of the Southeast Michigan Community Alliance (SEMCA). In 1990, 
he was first elected to the Dearborn City Council, serving for 
seventeen years as Council President. In 2006, he was sworn in as the 
Mayor of Dearborn after the passing of Mayor Michael Guido and was 
officially elected to the role in a special election in 2007.
  During his tenure as Mayor, Mr. O'Reilly has been a champion for 
economic growth and development within the city, as well as for 
improving Dearborn's neighborhoods for all. Under his leadership, 
downtown was revitalized, and the city has continued to be recognized 
as a center of culture, industry, and innovation. Mr. O'Reilly was 
highly involved in many state and community organizations, as the chair 
of the Downriver Community Conference in 2014, President of the 
Michigan Municipal League in 2015, and was appointed to the Executive 
Committee of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation by Governor 
Rick Snyder in 2016. Ever the advocate for his city, he served on the 
board of directors for the Dearborn Education Foundation, the West 
Dearborn Downtown Development Authority, and the East Dearborn Downtown 
Development Authority. He resides in his beloved Dearborn with his wife 
Christina, and together they have three children Devon, Sean, and 
Dylan.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Former 
Mayor John O'Reilly. We are grateful for his years spent serving the 
citizens of Dearborn. Personally, I am thankful for Jack's years of 
friendship, counsel, and advice to my late husband John and I, he is 
someone who can always be counted on. I join with his family, friends, 
and colleagues in extending my best wishes to him in retirement.

                          ____________________