[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 25903]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING MR. WILLIAM W. WIRTZ

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the life of 
William W. Wirtz, a truly outstanding Illinoisan who passed away this 
week.
  Bill Wirtz was a businessman, sports fan, and philanthropist. He took 
over operation of Judge & Dolph in Illinois in 1950 and expanded that 
business into the Wirtz Beverage Group, comprised of five 
distributorships in four States. He also served as president of Wirtz 
Corporation, Director of First Security Trust and Savings Bank, and 
chairman of the South Miami Bank Corporation. But most Chicagoans will 
remember him as the owner and president of the Chicago Blackhawks 
hockey team.
  The Wirtz family bought the Blackhawks in 1954, and Bill was named 
president of the organization in 1966, a title he maintained for over 
40 years. Bill was a true hockey fan. During his lifetime, he helped 
negotiate the merger between the NHL and the World Hockey Association, 
served on the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympic Committees, and was chairman 
of the Board of Governors of the National Hockey League for 18 years. 
In recognition of his many contributions to the sport, Bill Wirtz was 
inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
  Bill Wirtz also gave a great deal back to the community and the city 
of Chicago. Along with Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, he was a driving 
force behind the construction of the United Center to replace the old 
Chicago Stadium in 1994. He also established the Chicago Blackhawk 
Charities, which has donated over $7.5 million to worthy causes in the 
Chicago area. Perhaps closest to Bill's heart was the development of 
the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Sports Program at the Rehabilitation 
Institute of Chicago. Named after his mother, this program is a year-
round, cross-disability sports and recreation program.
  Bill Wirtz is survived by his wife Alice, five children and seven 
grandchildren. They have my condolences and those of so many who knew 
him. Bill's many contributions to Chicago and Illinois will not soon be 
forgotten.

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