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[Pages S2425-S2426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO JOHN OSTENBURG
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the late Pulitzer award-winning historian
Studs Terkel in his seminal book, ``The Good War,'' described how the
Second World War helped give birth to a new middle class for America.
The GI bill helped make new things possible. One of those things was
the opening of the suburbs for everyone and not just the exclusive
domain of the upper class. Thanks to the GI bill, new suburbs became
places for returning soldiers and their families to earn a better way
of life. This is how Park Forest entered the lexicon of Americana. It
was one of America's first ``GI Towns.''
Park Forest has always been on the frontlines of progress. The town
won the All-American City award twice, first in 1953 and then in 1977,
for its work in racial integration and open housing initiatives. For
the last 20 years, my friend, Mayor John Ostenburg, has maintained this
tradition while leading Park Forest through a new time of transition
and anxiety. Now, as John passes his leadership to a new generation,
Park Forest has never been stronger.
John's vocations and career highlights were too numerous to count.
John was born and raised in Springfield, IL. Graduating high school
in 1963, he joined a Catholic seminary called the Clerics of St.
Viator, where he developed a lifelong sense of justice and humanity.
His expertise and interest in the studies of the Trappist monk Thomas
Merton earned the admiration of so many, and John regularly is
published discussing Thomas Merton.
[[Page S2426]]
As a young seminarian, John joined 35,000 others in rallying with Dr.
Martin Luther King at Soldier Field in Chicago and then marched with
him as he went to Chicago City Hall to post his demands on its doors.
He remains, to this day, a life member of the NAACP. Making a
difference has always been part of who John Ostenburg is as a person.
He witnessed firsthand the violence at the 1968 Democratic Convention
while working as a campaign manager for Eugene McCarthy's Presidential
campaign.
Upon leaving the seminary, John became a reporter at the Springfield
State Journal covering the African-American community. He would go on
to be an editor for the Joliet Herald-News, a sports editor for the
Tinley Park Crescent Newspapers, and a reporter for the Hammond Times.
He even was part-owner and managing editor for the Lockport Free Press.
What brought him to Park Forest was education. He took a job as
communications director for Prairie State College. John has been a
classroom teacher at the grade school, high school, community college,
and university levels. His expertise teaching and administrative work
made him an ideal leader in the Chicago Teachers Union. He edited the
Union's publications, chaired the communications department, and was
legislative director and chief of staff from 2007 to 2010. He also
helped move the organization out of debt into fiscal stability.
John's love of Park Forest and its residents always came through to
everyone. It was the late Marge Friedman Scherr, a legend in the
community, that talked him into running for the Park Forest village
board. She saw greatness in him. He lost in 1983, but he didn't give
up. He won a 2-year term in 1985, and after the board approved a
staggered 3-year term, won again in 1985.
In 1992, John ran and won a seat in the Illinois Legislature for the
80th District. He lost reelection 2 years later, but it was a blessing
in disguise. John returned to the Park Forest village board in 1997,
and in 1999, he ran and won his first term as mayor. He would go on to
win reelection in 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015, becoming the longest
serving mayor in the history of Park Forest.
During his time as mayor, John helped Park Forest continue its
tradition as a place of progress. His visionary approach made the town
an All-American award finalist in 2000 and 2006. John continued Park
Forest's tradition of diversity by encouraging unity and equality in
Chicago Southland, earning a 2009 Award from Diversity, Inc. John's
expertise in housing is respected nationally, and he has served on
panels for the Brookings Institute on confronting poverty in America.
John implemented the Park Forest Sustainability Plan to help ensure
residents maintain high-quality life for future generations through
green projects that bring the community together. Under John's
leadership, Park Forest was the recipient of the Distinguished Budget
Award and Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for more
than 20 years.
John Ostenburg's focus on service to others and the greater good is a
trademark of his lifetime. His role model Thomas Merton once said, ``We
do not exist for ourselves.'' John's career is a reflection of this.
Son, father, grandfather, author, and mayor are all roles in which he
excelled. The people of Park Forest, the people of Illinois, and I take
pride in calling him a friend. We thank him for his public service.
John will never cease being a servant to people.
____________________
