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Congressional Gold Medal Nominee
Monsignor Ignatius D. McDermott
Legislators push for U.S. to honor Father Mac October 4, 2003 By Thomas Roeser
House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), second in line to the presidency, has begun a legislative drive to commission a historic
Congressional Gold Medal heralding the distinguished achievement of Chicago's most revered priest, Monsignor Ignatius D. McDermott. The bill, HR 3148, states the medal be awarded ''in recognition of [McDertmott's] contribution to the drug treatment community and his accomplishments as a priest and humanitarian.'' At a recent meeting in Washington, the priest inscribed his biography for Hastert. Formal announcement of the legislation will be made at the annual dinner dance honoring the founder of
Haymarket Center, a nationally known comprehensive alcohol and substance abuse treatment center, on Tuesday at Drury Lane Oak Brook. (Full disclosure: This writer is a board member and consultant to Haymarket and author of the biography, Father Mac: The Life and Times of Ignatius D. McDermott's Famed Haymarket Center.) The
Congressional Gold Medal dates back to 1776, when the Continental Congress authorized one for
George Washington. Other recipients include
John Paul Jones, founder of the American Navy; wartime heroes Major Generals
Winfield Scott,
Andrew Jackson,
William Henry Harrison and
Ulysses S. Grant; the
Wright brothers;
Charles A. Lindbergh;
Thomas A. Edison, and Army Generals
John J. Pershing,
George C. Marshall,
William (Billy) Mitchell and
Douglas MacArthur. Non-military awardees include singer
Marian Anderson; songwriter
Irving Berlin;
Rosa Parks;
Winston Churchill; Holocaust survivor and writer
Elie Wiesel; former
President Harry Truman;
Gerald R. and Betty Ford, and
Ronald and Nancy Reagan. McDermott would be the fourth native Chicagoan to be honored; those earlier designated were Olympics athlete
Jesse Owens; animator
Walt Disney, and Navy
Admiral Hyman Rickover. The bill was introduced by
Rep. Danny Davis, a Chicago Democrat in whose district Haymarket is based, for himself, Hastert,
Peoria Republican Ray LaHood and
Chicago Democrat William Lipinski.
Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin will lead the effort in the Senate. Gold medal legislation must be co-sponsored by at least two-thirds (290) of the House members and at least 67 senators. The suggestion that Father Mac receive the medal was made by Hastert. The bill describes the 94-year-old as ''a man of unwavering faith, deep compassion and tireless devotion to helping those who are among the most desperate and needy.'' Citing the priest's words that ''today's world is oversaturated with a surplus of starters and a famine of finishers,'' it says ''Msgr. McDermott is a finisher.'' It hails his work since he was ordained in 1936, first for helping children at Maryville, then his early ministry on Skid Row, expanding to educating in the Chicago schools, pioneering education on the problems of drinking and driving, and later as co-founder (with Dr. James West) of Haymarket. McDermott was 75 when Haymarket, now the largest drug-abuse treatment center in Chicago, was started in 1975. Haymarket, on the Near West Side, provides integrated treatment services for an average of 18,000 clients annually in a score of residential and outpatient programs and settings. Haymarket has six Chicago area locations, with its central headquarters at 932 W. Washington. Its programs for men and women serve as a model for treatment programs throughout the nation. The dinner-dance will allow hundreds of fans and well-wishers to greet the priest. Reservations can be made by calling (312) 226-7984, extension 314. Also honored at the event will be the Rev. John Smyth, director of Maryville Academy, who, Father Mac said, ''seeks as he always has, nothing but the best for the children who live there -- notwithstanding the attacks made on him.''
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