Rep. Tom Weber congratulates Richmond senior

FOX LAKE – State Rep. Tom Weber, R-Lake Villa, and Mary Killough, the acting director of the Illinois Department on Aging, recently honored Charlene Wexler, a 2024 Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame inductee.

Wexler, a Richmond resident, was inducted into the Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame for authoring numerous award-winning novels and essays.

“I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to host director Killough and Charlene Wexler to acknowledge her years of important contributions through her writing,” Weber said in a news release. “Charlene joins a very prestigious group of only 142 folks to ever earn this distinction, so being able to recognize this achievement is nothing short of an honor.”

Every year since 1994, the Illinois Department on Aging has inducted a select group of Illinoisans age 65 or older into the Hall of Fame. In 2024, four Illinoisans received the award, one in each of the following categories: community service, education, the labor force, and, in Wexler’s case, the arts, sports and entertainment.

The panel of judges voting on the award winners determined Wexler’s work was “beyond compare” according to a statement from the Illinois Department on Aging.

As outlined in House Resolution 141, filed by Weber and passed by the House of Representatives, Wexler’s induction into the Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame stems from “her devotion to the art of writing,” with pieces ranging from novels, essays and short stories.

Her passion for writing first began after the passing of her son, Jeffrey, who lost his battle with leukemia at only 12 years old. During Jeffrey’s four-year battle, Wexler journaled as a form of therapy and when Jeffrey died, she used her grief to write her first novel titled “Lori.”

Wexler went on to write several more award-winning novels and short stories including “Elephants in the Room,” “Farewell to South Shore,” “Milk and Oranges,” “Murder Across the Ocean” and “Murder on Skid Row.”

“Charlene’s illustrious and successful career is profound, not only thanks to the stories she wrote, but the story she has lived,” Weber said in the release. “Her ability to overcome the loss of her son and channel that grief into her work is a testament not only to her skill as an author but her perseverance and passion for her craft. I can’t think of a more deserving person to be inducted into the Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame. Congratulations, Charlene!”