[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5510]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRATULATING MAYOR BOB BUTLER

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, fifty years ago, when Bob Butler was sworn 
in as mayor of Marion, IL, the town was literally on fire.
  Just outside city hall, one of the largest fires in the city's 
history was raging.
  It may not have been, as Mayor Butler has described it, an 
``auspicious'' start. I will go a little farther and call it what it 
was: a baptism by fire. But through his five decades of thoughtful 
leadership, he has always been devoted to the city he loves and has 
never stopped working to improve the lives of its residents.
  During his time as mayor, the local population has increased, area 
businesses have grown, and the economy has expanded.
  And along the way, some have reported, Bob Butler became the longest-
serving currently active mayor in America.
  After first being elected, a fire wasn't the only problem he had to 
deal with; he also had to dig the city out of financial trouble.
  Under Mayor Butler's guidance, Marion got itself back in the black 
and began building a platform to allow for future growth.
  And then, a few years later, another disaster hit. A tornado tore 
through the city, killing 10 and injuring hundreds including the Mayor 
and leaving tens of millions of dollars of damage.
  After crawling out of his car, which had been thrown 300 feet and 
turned upside down, Mayor Butler showed the sort of resilience we don't 
see much anymore and dove headfirst into recovery efforts.
  His efforts, along with those of many others, helped lead to a boom 
in economic and residential development that we still see effects of 
today.
  Without Mayor Butler's leadership, Marion would look very different 
than it does now. His touch can be seen on everything from the civic 
center to the city's businesses to the local minor league team, the 
Miners.
  His leadership helped guide Marion through many trying experiences, 
and the city's voters kept their faith in Bob Butler. He has served 
them well each and every year.
  Despite all of his hard work and his clear record of results, Mayor 
Butler has always remained humble.
  He may be mayor, but he always gives credit to the people of Marion 
for their city's success.
  This week, the people of Marion gave some credit back to Mayor 
Butler.
  They honored his five decades of good work with a life-size bronze 
statue at the site where that fire once raged so many years ago--in 
Tower Square, just across from city hall.
  I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Mayor Butler and his family 
for this impressive achievement and wish him the best when he enters 
retirement at the end of this term.

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