As I do every other Monday night, I will be covering the Morris council meeting tonight, but I will be doing so with a heavy heart.
On a normal night I would arrive in the basement of City Hall a few minutes early in order to greet the regular attendees and discuss the recent news. But mostly to get my fill of the one and only John Swezy hug.
A John Swezy hug always felt like home.
Former alderman John Swezy died Friday. You can read The Herald News article that ran Saturday here.
You may also read his obit on his blog here.
Even after John lost the coin toss forcing him out of his alderman position last year, he still attended every council meeting his illness would allow.
And despite his need to walk with a cane, he got up from his front row seat and met me at the media table with open arms every time.
John was the first to welcome me to Morris when I started covering the beat three years ago.
As I walked from alderman to alderman introducing myself and shaking hands, John was the first to ask where I came from, where I went to school and how in the world I ended up covering Morris.
With most officials these questions about my life ended once I became known. But not with John. He sincerely asked me about my life every week and followed up with me on my stories, which he read religiously.
John recently sent an e-mail out updating his friends on his health and family and ended the letter asking us all to respond and tell him about our lives because he really wanted to know.
I never got around to responding. As always, I let life get in the way.
Although I did not know John for long, it seems he never allowed himself to be too busy for the ones he cared about. If I take anything from knowing John, it will be to be more like him in this sense.
As I read John's obituary I became regretful that there was so much about him that I did not know. Like that he was choir director at First Christian Church. I had no idea he could sing.
But I did know how much he loved to write. That was something we shared. And at 72 years old John started his own blog before me. I read it regularly and we chatted about it many times before the council meetings.
Most recently we shared stories about the Morris Citizen's Police Academy, which I just finished taking and wrote a series about in Southwest Weekly. John was one of the first to graduate from the CPA.
In the short time I knew John he made such an impact that I already miss him just knowing he won't be there tonight.
I used this blog to take some time to share my feelings about John and I not only welcome everyone else to, but I beg you to. The only way for him to live on is for us to remember. So please share with me your thoughts and memories of John.
R.I.P. John.
Mallory Medved is an assistant managing editor of weekly publications for
the Sun-Times News Group. She helps cover the Lincoln-Way area and towns
southwest of Joliet. Being naturally nosy has led her to a career in
journalism and fulfilled her dream of getting paid to read. Being a new
homeowner and a future bride, she's also perpetually broke, but enjoys
hearing about other people in the same situation. She lives in Plainfield
but is a native of New Lenox.
Christina Chapman is a Will County resident who desperately wants to live in Grundy County. But since she lost that battle with her boyfriend when they bought a house, she makes due covering Grundy County news for The Herald News in Joliet. When not covering municipal meetings, school events and finding the truth behind the latest coffee talk, she is trying to balance life as a young home owner who is fighting the stereotype that she is living in sin because she is not yet married. She hopes to share with you her perspective on life and the news in hopes that you’ll share yours.
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