[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2709-2710]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               MOURNING THE LOSS OF RAYMOND M. FITZGERALD

  (Mrs. BIGGERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today 
to mourn the passing of a dear friend, Raymond M. Fitzgerald.
  Although he lived in my congressional district in Naperville, 
Illinois, I got to know him best during his time here in Washington. He 
began his career as a legislative aid for our former Governor. He went 
on to work on the staff of the House Science and Technology Committee 
and as a legislative director to my good friend from Illinois, John 
Shimkus. I know that today there are many still working here in 
Congress who knew him well and miss him as I do.

[[Page 2710]]

  Just a few years ago, Ray moved to Naperville with his wife Kristen 
to raise their three beautiful daughters, Nora, Maggie, and Lucy. But 
having taken a job in government relations for a major company in my 
district, he made regular trips back here to see all his good friends 
and colleagues.
  Mr. Speaker, Ray was a wonderful human being with a positive attitude 
and great talent for public service and science policy. He was always 
full of life and cheer.
  And in the short 37 years that he was with us before succumbing to 
cancer, he built a lasting legacy of friends, family, and professional 
success.
  Mr. Speaker, I insert into the Record the Chicago Tribune article 
about Ray's life.

               [From the Chicago Tribune, Jan. 26, 2009]

          Raymond M. Fitzgerald, 1971-2009: Navistar Lobbyist

                       (By Joan Giangrasse Kates)

       You could take a South Sider and move him to Washington, 
     but in the case of Raymond M. Fitzgerald, you couldn't take 
     the South Side out of the man.
       The youngest of six children and only son of a Chicago 
     fireman, Mr. Fitzgerald carried with him the values of faith, 
     family and friends when he moved in 1994 to Capitol Hill to 
     serve as a legislative aide for five years to then-Illinois 
     Gov. Jim Edgar. He later worked for a year as a member of the 
     staff on the House Science and Technology Committee.
       From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Fitzgerald served as the legislative 
     director to U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), who quickly took 
     note of the quintessential South Sider's authenticity and 
     unflappability.
       ``From the start, Ray was as honest and straightforward as 
     they come,'' said Shimkus, from Downstate Collinsville. ``He 
     never lost his cool, and in our business, people respect 
     that.''
       For four years, Mr. Fitzgerald worked in the Warrenville 
     offices of commercial trucks and engines giant Navistar Inc., 
     using his vast knowledge in the field of energy issues and 
     technologies and making frequent trips to Washington.
       Mr. Fitzgerald, 37, of Naperville, a former director of 
     legislative affairs and government relations for Navistar, 
     died Wednesday, Jan. 21, in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 
     Chicago, after a nine-month battle with stomach cancer.
       ``He had the respect of so many in Washington,'' said Tim 
     Touhy, Navistar's director of corporate communications. ``He 
     knew a great deal about energy, and he knew his way around 
     policymaking.''
       But perhaps Mr. Fitzgerald's biggest coup in Washington 
     wasn't a piece of legislation, but scoring a visit to the 
     White House when his beloved White Sox met President George 
     Bush after winning the 2005 World Series.
       ``He was all smiles that day standing there next to his 
     team,'' said longtime friend Paul Doucette.
       Born in Evergreen Park and raised on the South Side, Mr. 
     Fitzgerald was a graduate of Brother Rice High School in 
     Chicago. He received a bachelor's degree in economics and 
     political science from Northern Illinois University.
       In 2001, Mr. Fitzgerald married his wife, Kristin. He moved 
     with his family to Naperville in 2005 after accepting a job 
     with Navistar.
       In addition to his wife, other survivors include three 
     daughters, Nora, Maggie and Lucy; his mother, Kaye; and five 
     sisters, Colleen Zientek, Mary O'Donnell, Debbie Noll, Linda 
     Trinley and Maureen Harkala.
       Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Monday in St. Thomas More 
     Catholic Church, 2825 W. 81st St., Chicago.

  Mr. Speaker, finally I'd like to offer my sincerest sympathies to Ray 
Fitzgerald's family, especially his wife, Kristen, his daughters, 
mother, and five loving sisters who grew up with him in Chicago's south 
side. They will all remain in our thoughts and prayers.

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