The late Will County politician Larry Walsh seemed to play a role in advancing transportation projects big and small, from building a new Metra train station in New Lenox to extending the Interstate 355 Veterans Memorial Tollway.
Local, regional and state officials paid tribute to Walsh Tuesday during an event in Joliet. The former state legislator and county executive died in June at age 72.
Denise Winfrey, a former Will County Board member who was appointed to serve the remainder of Walsh’s fourth term as county executive, recalled how he worked to fund paratransit, or dial-a-ride services.
“He cared about residents,” Winfrey said. “He believed people who were older or disabled should have the same opportunities to move around on their own as everyone else.”
Several speakers said Walsh was a master at finding solutions despite political differences.
“Larry always put people above politics,” said Roger Claar, a member of the Pace suburban bus board of directors who recently retired after serving 34 years as mayor of Bolingbrook.
Claar said Walsh advocated for Pace buses to avoid rush-hour traffic backups by riding on the shoulder of Interstate 55. The program helped students from Chicago who attended Lewis University in Romeoville and other schools, he said. Pace has expanded the program to Interstate 90 and other highways.
“Larry’s support for that project was critical to making it work,” Claar said.
Regional Transportation Authority Chairman Kirk Dillard, a former state senator and chair of the DuPage County Republican Party, said he and Walsh appeared together in the first national TV commercial for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008.
“The last trip Larry and I took to visit the president at the White House, I will never forget,” Dillard said.
The three friends who had served together in the Illinois Senate met on the day of the 2016 funeral for Shimon Peres, former president of Israel, Dillard said. Obama spoke at the service in Israel, then flew back to the United States to host a reception for Illinois supporters, Dillard said.
“We had a great night, and at about 11 o’clock the president said he was tired,” Dillard said. “I’ll never forget, as the president went up the stairway, he called Larry over.”
Dillard said Obama spent the day mingling with world leaders — and his farmer friend from Will County.
“He ended his night, of all the people on Earth to say good night to, he called over Larry Walsh and said a personal goodbye and thank you to Larry,” Dillard said. “It reminds me that this country still is a great country, when someone like Larry Walsh could be a personal friend of the president of the United States.”
Walsh was born in Joliet in 1948 and graduated from the now-closed Joliet East High School in 1966. He earned an associate degree in agriculture from Joliet Junior College and raised crops on a family farm near Elwood.
He held public office for nearly 50 years, starting as a school board member, then serving as township supervisor.
Walsh asked former Joliet Junior College President J.D. Ross to represent Will County on the RTA board of directors, Ross said. Walsh was memorable for his sense of humility, Ross said.
“Larry was a man of immense faith, not because he talked about it, but because he lived it,” Ross said. “His faith was evident every day by the way he treated people.”
Richard Kwasneski, chair of the Pace board and a former mayor of Lemont, hosted Tuesday’s tribute to Walsh. Fewer than 50 invited guests attended the event, which was held outdoors in downtown Joliet, near the city’s 6,000-seat baseball stadium.
“Transportation is one segment of things Larry worked on during his career,” Kwasneski said. “If we weren’t in a situation with COVID-19, we probably could have filled the ballpark with people.”
Walsh’s widow, Irene, attended, along with two of his sons, state Rep. Larry Walsh, Jr., D-Joliet, and Shawn Walsh, Will County regional superintendent of schools.
Representatives of the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority said Walsh was instrumental in pushing to fund more than $1 billion in improvements to Interstate 80 through Will County and other projects.
IDOT Secretary Omer Osman said he met Walsh several years ago at a meeting to discuss widening Weber Road and building a new diverging diamond interchange at I-55. The northern stretch of the Weber Road work zone ended at Rodeo Drive in Bolingbrook, he said.
During the meeting, Osman said he mispronounced the street as “ro-dee-oh” like the cowboy competitions.
“After the third time, Larry couldn’t take it anymore and said, ‘It’s “ro-DAY-oh,'” like the famous luxury shopping strip in Beverly Hills, California, Osman said. “That’s how Larry and I became friends.”
Walsh was a visionary who championed projects like the Illiana toll road, said longtime Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke, who served with Walsh on various regional transportation commissions.
“He was someone who thought about not only where we should be today but where we should be tomorrow,” Schielke said.
The southern extension of the I-355 tollway might not have been built were it not for Walsh, said Kevin Donahue, the tollway’s government and legislative affairs manager and a Blue Island alderman.
Several officials described how Walsh would “work the room” at events, greeting everyone individually and making them feel special.
“Larry was a rock star,” said John Greuling, president and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development. “There were not many people like Larry Walsh.”
Walsh’s oldest son said his family was grateful for the tribute.
“He meant a lot to everybody,” Walsh said. “His impact went across this state, and went to Washington, D.C.”
Walsh will also be remembered with a service and a resolution at the Will County Board meeting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the county offices, 302 N. Chicago St., Joliet.
Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.
