[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 176 (Thursday, October 23, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7727-S7728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING BRUCE SAGAN

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, local papers are the lifeline of our 
communities. They inform citizens of not only what is going on in their 
city halls, but their wedding halls as well. These papers connect 
Americans and remind us that we are part of a community greater than 
ourselves. This was something that Bruce Sagan understood well, and for 
more than 70 years, he saved newspapers, theatres, and helped preserve 
Chicago's cultural vibrance. Bruce was the embodiment of an engaged 
citizen; he was someone who constantly strived to support his 
community, and it is with great sadness that I share the news of his 
passing.
  Bruce was born in Summit, NJ, and at just 16 years old, he moved to 
Chicago to study at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. While 
professors may have missed Bruce in the classroom, they could not miss 
him in the pages of the Chicago Maroon, UChicago's newspaper. Bruce was 
an avid writer and supporter of the Maroon, constantly working to 
ensure that the paper covered the important issues of the day.
  On UChicago's campus, the issue of racial discrimination was 
dominating the discussion. A group of students were working to expose 
the medical school's practice of rejecting Black students, and while 
students lined the streets in protest, Bruce was busy behind a 
typewriter, working to publicize their efforts and shine a light on 
discrimination. His work at the Maroon in support of integration was an 
early sign of the values Bruce brought to journalism.
  Bruce's passion for journalism couldn't be satisfied by a student 
paper, so he left college and the Chicago Maroon to go work for the 
City News Bureau. Known across Chicago as the ``reporter's boot camp,'' 
City News

[[Page S7728]]

was a consortium of newspapers that coordinated routine coverage. It 
was an incubator of journalistic talent that helped launch the careers 
of legendary Chicago journalists like Mike Royko and Seymour Hersh. At 
City News, Bruce was one of the overnight editors, working from 
midnight to 8 a.m., or as he described, ``the mafia assassination 
beat.''
  But 2 years after he joined City News, Bruce received an offer that 
would change the course of his career. One of Illinois' oldest local 
papers, the Hyde Park Herald, was failing, and a group of concerned 
citizens asked Bruce if he would buy the Herald to keep it in 
circulation. While the prospect of buying and saving a paper was 
daunting, 24-year-old Bruce charged ahead and took out a $2,500 loan to 
purchase the Herald. Thanks to Bruce, the paper did not miss a single 
issue. This began Bruce's long career as an owner and manager of local 
papers. Soon after Bruce purchased the Hyde Park Herald, he acquired 
the Southtown Economist, which he grew into dozens of local newspapers 
spanning across the Chicago suburbs. Under Bruce's leadership, these 
papers reached hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans as Bruce modernized 
their printing processes and pushed them to take a moral stand on the 
issues.
  What made Bruce so successful was that he recognized the civic value 
of newspapers. In a Time Magazine interview, Bruce once decried how it 
was harder for someone to know what is going on in their own city than 
to find out what Khrushchev is doing in Cuba. Bruce wanted to demystify 
what was happening in Illinois. He took on topics that impacted every 
part of civic life, ranging from the corruption of political machines 
of Springfield to the protection of Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Robie 
House. Anyone who worked at the Herald often would see Bruce's office 
light on late into the night, a symbol of his tireless work in support 
of his city.
  But Bruce's commitment to public life in Chicago did not stop at the 
edge of the bullpen; he also was a passionate supporter of the arts. In 
1965, Bruce bought the Harper Theatre to create an ``off-Broadway'' 
experience in Chicago. Bruce moved the Hyde Park Herald's offices to 
the second floor of the theater and renovated the space as a ``monument 
to urban renewal.'' For decades, the Harper Theatre supported local 
musicians, dancers, and actors as they honed their crafts and shared 
their talents with the city. The Harper Theater was also where Bruce 
saw the Joffrey Ballet for the first time as part of the first modern 
dance festival in the Midwest, which he organized. Three decades later, 
Bruce helped facilitate the Joffrey Ballet's move from New York to 
Chicago.
  While mentioning all of Bruce's contributions to support and save 
Chicago's various cultural institutions would be difficult, his efforts 
did not go unnoticed. In 2022, then-President Biden awarded Bruce with 
the National Medal of Arts. Cheering that selection was David Axelrod, 
who got his start working as a cub reporter for Bruce. I can think of 
no one more deserving of this honor than Bruce, a man who spent seven 
decades fighting to strengthen the ties of community and the richness 
of cultural life in Chicago.
  But Bruce did not work alone. His wife Bette Cerf Hill was Bruce's 
faithful partner as they both engaged in and supported every aspect of 
Chicago's art scene, from literature festivals to architectural 
centers. Loretta and I send our deepest condolences to Bette; their 
five children Paul, Alex, Catherine, Teresa, and Diana; their 12 
grandchildren; and their 9 great-grandchildren.
  Chicago will be forever grateful for all that Bruce has done to 
enrich our cultural heritage. While we will miss Bruce dearly, his 
legacy will continue to benefit our city for generations. Whether 
someone watches a play at the Steppenwolf Theatre or reads the latest 
article in the Hyde Park Herald, I hope they take a moment to remember 
Bruce.

                          ____________________