Former DuPage lawmaker dies

SPRINGFIELD - Roger C. Marquardt, a longtime Springfield lobbyist who served briefly as a state lawmaker from Lombard, has died, it was announced on the Illinois House floor Friday.

Marquardt served as head of the DuPage County airport starting in 1981, before later working under Gov. Jim Edgar in the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Later, in 2002, Marquardt was appointed to finish a term in the Illinois House, where he served for about a year.

Since then, he had run Roger C. Marquardt & Co., a lobbying firm with current clients including several DuPage County communities, College of DuPage, the Illinois High School Association and others. Past clients have included Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz.

Though a longtime Lombard resident, Marquardt had spent some time recently living in Galena and served as head of the local county Republican Party there.

Members of the Illinois House observed a moment of silence in Marquardt's honor Friday morning.