Public visitation set for George Pradel

A public visitation will be held this weekend for former Naperville Mayor George Pradel, who led the city through enormous growth during two decades in office.

Pradel died Tuesday, one day short of his 81st birthday, after battling cancer. Visitation will be Saturday and Sunday at Naperville City Hall, with a private funeral to follow.

Pradel was Naperville's longest-serving mayor. He was elected in 1995 after nearly 30 years with the Naperville Police Department, where he earned the nickname "Officer Friendly" for spending time with youth in the city's schools. He left office in 2015.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin invited Pradel to be his guest at a State of the Union address by George W. Bush. Durbin said Pradel "was a friend to everyone he met."