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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LIFE OF THE HONORABLE BILLY LAWLESS
WHEREAS, William "Billy" Noel Lawless was born in Rahoon, County Galway, to Ellen and Thomas Lawless on December 24, 1950; and
WHEREAS, Billy was the beloved husband of Anne (n?e O' Toole); loving father of Billy Jr., Clodagh, Amy, and John Paul and their partners; and much-loved grandad of eight grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, as a young boy he worked on his family's dairy farm delivering milk to neighboring communities; and
WHEREAS, Billy participated in competitive rowing, and in 1976 he won a gold medal at the World Masters' Regatta in Sweden, and was a member of the Irish National Rowing Squad and in recent years, he also helped bring the "Tribesmen Head of the River" rowing event in Galway into the national spotlight; and
WHEREAS, inspired by his daughter's rowing scholarship to a college in Massachusetts, Billy and his family emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1998; and
WHEREAS, Billy started in Wrigleyville opening The Irish Oak; and
WHEREAS, Billy formed the Chicago Irish Pub/Restaurant Association in 2001 and with a growing business Billy established the Gage Hospitality Group in 2007. He and his four children have since opened and operated many establishments in Chicago including Acanto, Coda Di Volpe, The Dawson, The Dearborn and The Gage; and
WHEREAS, in addition to his growing hospitality business, Billy became a vocal advocate for immigrant and refugee rights working with the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) as Vice-President of the organization. He was a founding member of the Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform and the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition now the American Business Immigration Coalition. Billy was also a member of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Council and Co-Chair of the Immigration Committee; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, through these organizations and his tireless and consistent advocacy work, a majo...
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