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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
COMMEMORATING THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AND MEMORY OF JOHN FLYNN ROONEY
WHEREAS, John Flynn Rooney, an award winning journalist, and reporter for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin for nearly three decades died June 30, leaving behind family, countless friends, devoted readers and a community enriched for having known him; and
WHEREAS John Rooney was one of the legal community’s greatest chroniclers; he was noted for his intelligence, exceptional attention to detail and excellence. “No detail seemed too minor to escape his attention. No question appeared too tough to ask. No story was too big or too small, or too difficult, to handle,” 1st District Appellate Justice Michael B. Hyman said as he presented Rooney with a lifetime achievement award last month during The Chicago Bar Association’s Herman Kogan Media Awards; and
WHEREAS, John Rooney had the unique ability to work without rancor and as a result was genuinely admired and respected; there was never a personal, partisan, or ulterior motive when it came to the way he wrote. He was known as a reporter who could be hard-hitting with his sources when he needed to be and as someone who reflected the very best of the free press; and
WHEREAS, while he was in high school and college, John Rooney worked as a runner for renowned personal-injury attorney Philip Corboy. He and the Rooney siblings who followed him did such a good job, lawyers at the firm started calling the runners “Rooneys,” The title to this day is still used at Corboy and Demetrio and according to Thomas Demetrio “It’s a badge of honor to be called a Rooney”; and
WHEREAS, John Rooney was a second-generation news man. His father, Edmund J. Rooney Jr. was a reporter for the old Chicago Daily News. John Rooney graduated from Marist High School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Loyola University of Chicago and a master’s degree in public affairs reporting at Sangamon State University, now known as University of Illinois Springfield.; and
WHEREAS, John Rooney spent three years as an editor and reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago, where he covered education, transportation and federal courts. After a short time spent as a reporter for the Tampa, Florida Tribune and a producer for Walter Jacobson at WBBM-TV Channel 2, Rooney started with the Law Bulletin, covering the county courts from the Daley Center and reporting on 1st District Appellate Court decisions. After four years, he moved to the Dirksen Federal Courthouse where he would spend another four years covering the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. His intelligent and insightful reporting were much admired; he covered notable corruption cases against lawyers, judges and other elected officials, including Thomas J. Maloney and Adam N. Stillo Sr., both former Cook County circuit judges. Rooney returned to the Daley Center in 1997 and began reporting on the tenures of Cook County chief judges Harry G. Comerford, Donald P. O’Connell and Timothy C. Evans before becoming a general-assignment reporter in 2003. He held this position until his retirement; and
WHEREAS, John Rooney will long be remembered for breaking the story in 1982 about the Chicago-area deaths from cyanide-laced Tylenol. His reporting was honored with the Peter Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club; and
WHEREAS, John Rooney is survived by his wife, Margaret, and their three sons, Ned, Jack and Dan. He will be sorely missed; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Commissioners of Cook County, on behalf of the 5.2 million residents of Cook County commemorates the extraordinary life of John Flynn Rooney and herewith expresses its sincere gratitude for the invaluable contributions he has made to the Citizens of Cook County, Illinois; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body and that an official copy of the same be tendered to the family of John Flynn Rooney.
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