* The Ottawa Times…

Former state Sen. Patrick Welch, who represented most of La Salle and Bureau counties for 22 years, died Tuesday from complications of a stroke. The longtime Peru Democrat had recently turned 71. […]

He was 33 years old when he trudged through snow to campaign against Hoxsey in 1982, attributing his upset win to the “sympathy vote” he got from homeowners who marveled at him stumping in the bitter cold.

Welch’s Senate colleagues derided him as a “one-term wonder,” but he proved them wrong. Former La Salle County coroner Jody Bernard remembered Welch as intelligent, knowledgeable and sharp with a “phenomenal” grasp of state government. […]

Welch remained in state government, accepting a 2005 post as assistant director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. Welch retired from Revenue and, in 2011, from practicing law; but his final years were pockmarked by tragedy. His only son Daniel died suddenly at age 25 in 2007 and Welch’s former wife Bonnie succumbed to cancer four years later.

Welch personally was afflicted with dementia, a fact revealed last fall when a missing-person alert was issued for him by Orland Park police. He was located safe in Chicago.

I knew Pat longer than I’ve known anyone else in Illinois politics. I met him in 1982 during his first campaign when I was in college. He was not supposed to win, but, man, did he ever run a smart campaign and he worked so very hard. May he rest in peace.

…Adding… Senate President John Cullerton…

“It’s with a heavy heart that I express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of my former colleague Pat Welch. He was a man with the savvy and the determination to be a true, principled public servant to the people he represented.

“Pat was a fighter for his ideals. He left behind a legislative legacy of equal pay for equal work, environmental protection and investment in local infrastructure. The Pat Welch I had the honor of serving with is the sort of person we speak of when we talk about statesmanship. He will be dearly missed.”

* Obituary…

John C. “Jack” McGuire passed away peacefully at the age of 86 on Thursday, January 2, 2020. He was born on May 12, 1933, in Joliet, IL, to Emmett J. and Mildred A. (née Clark) McGuire.

Jack graduated from Joliet Catholic High School in 1951. He then attended Joliet Junior College where he was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. He then entered the United States Army where he was stationed in Germany during the Korean War with his twin brother and best friend, Jim. Upon completing his tour with the United States Army, he enrolled at Colorado State College and graduated in 1958. Jack was a member of the football team for both Joliet Catholic High School and Colorado State College.

Jack was a parishioner of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church and a member of the American Legion Post 1080, the Irish-American Society of County Will, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Cantigny Post 367. He volunteered for Meals On Wheels and Cornerstone, as well as various other community organizations.

Jack was elected as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives. He represented the 86th District from 1990 to 2012 and served as Assistant Majority Leader and former Chairman of the House Aging Committee, where he was a champion of senior issues. In 2012, he also received the Larry Walsh Lifetime Achievement Award. Prior to his election to the House, McGuire served as Supervisor in Joliet Township from 1982 to 1990, and as Trustee from 1973 to 1982.

Jack was an avid runner and completed the Chicago Marathon in 1986. He loved golf and taking family trips with all of his grandchildren to Siesta Key, Florida and South Haven, Michigan. He also enjoyed attending Joliet Catholic football games on Friday nights.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn J. “Mitzi” (Miller); his parents; one son, Thomas L. McGuire; one brother, Paul McGuire; one sister, Helen La Barre; second wife, Patricia; and numerous in-laws.

Jack is survived by his loving children, Kathleen A. (John) Dougherty, Michael E. McGuire and Julie A. (Thomas) Sicinski.; grandchildren, Jillian (fiancé Sean Whitney), Patrick and Michael Dougherty, Thomas, Patrick (Liz), Michael (Amy) and Sean McGuire, and Alexander, Stephanie, Emily and Zachary Sicinski; great-grandchildren, Baird, Shae and Henry McGuire; one great-grandson due in the spring; his twin brother, James E. (Judith) McGuire; sister-in-law, Marilyn A. McGuire; brother-in-law, James Miller; and sisters-in-law, Lois Bernhard and Ruth Ann Campbell. Several nieces and nephews also survive.

The family would like to extend a sincere thank you to Jack’s caregiver, Paddy, who came into his life not knowing the kind of friendship that would develop. Paddy and Jack had a deep connection formed by their conversation and the music he played for him, making every day of Jack’s life better.

Visitation for John C. “Jack” McGuire will be held on Thursday, January 9, 2020, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black Rd. (at Essington Rd.), Joliet, IL. Funeral Services will be Friday, January 10, 2020, at 9:15 a.m. from the funeral home chapel to St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 18 Woodlawn Ave., Joliet, IL, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville, IL. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in the name of John C. “Jack” McGuire to the ​Alzheimer’s Association​.

Jack was always a man of his word and he had a sweet soul. He was also very proud of his nephew, Sen. Pat McGuire.