Goodbye to Joe Dunn, friend of us all - by Jim Broadway

Joe Dunn was only 55 when he died in his garden Friday morning, but in his life he raised the status of tens of thousands of his fellow human beings, of the poor and struggling and politically marginalized. He walked with a hitch but his graceful achievement in service to others was an unequalled wonder.

It would be only right if, by this morning, your local newspaper published a worthy tribute to Joe Dunn. But that’s unlikely. Self-promotion was an unknown concept to Joe. He stood for results but would not stand in the limelight. So he was, for all his good works, almost anonymous to the general public.

But hundreds will pay their respects between 4 and 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Staab Polk Memorial Home in Chatham, and at 9 a.m. Wednesday in First Church of the Brethren in Springfield, and later Wednesday at Pettett Funeral Home in Murphysboro. Joe was well known, respected – and loved – in the political and public service sectors throughout Illinois.

What was Joe Dunn like? He was like Paul Simon. In fact, Joe either worked directly for the late senator, or in positions to continue on his mission of service, throughout his career. A 1971 graduate of Newman High School, Joe earned a degree in political science at Eastern Illinois University (where he was speaker of the Student Senate) in 1975. He soon joined the staff of U.S. Rep. Paul Simon, who had been elected to Congress from Carbondale the previous year.

Joe was with Paul from then on, through his Senate years, and was Simon’s Downstate Director when the senator retired in January of 1997. Like Paul, Joe was devoted to helping the less fortunate, to lifting them to a status of full participation in society. Like Paul, he was deeply devout and was an inspiration even for those who find such faith elusive.

After Paul retired, Joe became Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition for Community Services, which is a non-profit organization whose mission is like a continuation of Paul’s work: “Helping Communities Help Themselves.” It is Joe’s legacy to society.

Leadership in the gentle model of Simon

Paul had a reputation for surrounding himself with “good people” as staff. I think he took competent people, mostly, and inspired them to be “good” (or at least to be better than we were before). Joe was an exception. His goodness was so pure, it seemed to me, that it must have been there from the start. In him, Paul had found a truly kindred soul, a model of dedication to service, to help lead his cause.

You can see Joe’s influence in the staff of the ICCS, which helps local groups in most counties organize solutions to a range of problems, from job training to conflict resolution. They’ve launched projects to feed hungry kids in the summer, and to keep them learning and growing. The ICCS team Joe assembled is imbued with his spirit and resolve.

His personality was captivating. He was completely engaged with the world, taking almost personally the slings and arrows aimed at the vulnerable, but never losing his infectious sense of humor. His was a life of sharing, of loving others, even those who by their words and deeds seemed almost unlovable.

In the years since we both left Paul Simon’s staff, Joe and I remained in active contact. He was one of the oracles I have turned to for political omens. He was the first to note the promise of Howard Dean in 2003. I jumped aboard, psychologically, and later in the year, from a hospital bed that would be his last, Paul endorsed Dean as the Democrat nominee for President in 2004. Joe had a hand in that, I figured.

Those close to Joe will miss him forever and will rely on his memory and on his example to be strong. His wonderful staff, his wife Tempa and his daughters Abby and Katie, all have lost more than the words on this page can adequately describe. Indeed, all of Illinois is perceptively diminished by his passing.

Words of consolation – and donations to the ICCS in Joe’s honor – should be sent to the Illinois Coalition for Community Services, 510 Apple Orchard Road, Springfield, IL 62703. Its mission is vital. Goodbye Joe. You left us too soon. – Jim Broadway