Three Inducted into District 308’s Hall of Distinction

Before Illinois State Representative Tom Cross decided to make a run for the General Assembly years ago, he had a sit down with his former Yorkville High School teacher Dennis Hastert.

But it wasn’t advice Cross sought from Hastert, who by then had moved onto become a member of Congress, but rather a tongue-in-cheek vow of silence.

“I said to Denny, ‘I wasn’t a really good student.’ And Denny said, ‘I know that.’ And I said, ‘I goofed off a lot in your class.’ And again Denny said, ‘I know that,’” Cross recalled. “I told him, ‘If I’m going to run, I need to know you can keep that to yourself.’ I’ve been very lucky and I’ve always been a big fan of his because he never spread a breath of that to anybody.”

Cross told that story during the Oswego School District’s 50th anniversary celebration Saturday night, where Hastert, class of 1960, and two other former alumni were also inducted into the inaugural Hall of Distinction.

The purpose of the Hall of Distinction is to give lasting recognition to alumni who have distinguished themselves beyond their high school years through their significant accomplishments or service to others.

Fellow Hall of Distinction winners of Hastert, who went onto become the longest-serving United States Speaker of the House, include Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Bell-Garman, class of 1961, and navigation engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA Neil Mottinger, class of 1962.

“We thank you for all you’ve done for the community, the school district and the world at large,” Superintendent Daniel O'Donnell said during Saturday night’s gala.

While Mottinger’s sister, Jean Bailey is proud of his accomplishments, she also enjoys the banter his job has provided over the years.

“When I tell people I have a brother that’s a rocket scientist, at first they think I’m kidding,” she said. “But I’m not. I really do. It’s fun to tell people.”

Former classmates and teachers recalled Garman’s smile, sense of humor and intelligence.

“If I ever had to appear before a judge I would hope it would be Rita,” quipped John Kellogg class of 1961. “She would be very fair and understand the letter of the law.”

Garman, an Aurora native, was appointed to the Supreme Court on February 1, 2001, and elected to the Court on November 5, 2002.

“She serves as a positive role model for all students, but especially to females,” said Kristine Liptrot, district director of communications and 50th anniversary committee chair.

Garman said she is “deeply honored to be selected.”

“It is truly awesome,” she said.

Though today Kendall County is one of the fastest-growing in the country, Garman said it was different when she and her fellow inductees were growing up.

“When we went to school here it was a lot smaller community,” she said.

Five decades ago, on May 27, 1961, voters in the Oswego high school and elementary school districts approved consolidating Oswego High School District 300 and Oswego Grade School District 8 into a single unit district, becoming Oswego Community Unit School District 308.

During Saturday’s festivities, Hastert recalled the one-room school he attended as a child, and being the last small class to graduate from Oswego High School, with 53 students.

“We all knew each other,” he said. “We knew everybody up and down the Fox River Valley.”

He added that because it was such a small school district, students “didn’t dare act up in one person’s class.”

“Because you caught it in another,” he said. “Or your mother knew about it before you got home that night.”

Garman recalled being a second-grader and dressing for Halloween as a “a little old lady,” complete with a long black skirt, black blouse, black shawl and black straw hat for her school’s parade.

“I thought I looked pretty cool but my mother took me aside and said, ‘All the little children are very proud of their costumes. If someone wins a prize don’t be upset,’” Garman said. “I took that message to heart and went to school.”

During the school’s assembly, she ended up taking first place for her costume.
“I was absolutely awestruck and amazed and so grateful,” Garman said. “And that “little old lady” is also awestruck, amazed and happy tonight.”

Fellow Hall of Distinction winners said they are also humbled by the honor.

“It’s an incredible way to start the year,” Mottinger said.

“Sometimes in the roles I’ve played you get honors here and there,” Hastert said. “But to be back home and have somebody honor you in this way is a great pleasure for me. It’s an honor to be here tonight.”