MEMORIAL-ERNIE BAUMANN

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0616

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HR0616 - 104th General Assembly

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HR0616
LRB104 19936 LAW 33386 r
1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

2

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3
Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Ernie
4
Baumann of Maywood, who passed away on December 28, 2025; and

5

WHEREAS, Ernie Baumann was a tumbling instructor, an
6
entrepreneur, a civil rights activist, an entertainer, and a
7
community builder whose five-decade mission helped shape the
8
lives of tens of thousands of children across Chicago's
9
western suburbs and the West Side through Maywood Fine Arts;
10
and

11

WHEREAS, Ernie Baumann, born on April 9, 1939, was adopted
12
and raised by a family in Western Springs; after graduating
13
from Lyons Township High School, where he was a member of the
14
gymnastics team, he served in the United States Navy; he
15
proceeded to work as a house parent at a Lutheran children's
16
home in Maywood, where he operated a small business, The
17
Newspaper Store, which became a gathering place for commuters
18
and creatives alike; he met his future wife, Lois Baumann, in
19
1966, and they married in 1967; and

20

WHEREAS, Ernie and Lois Baumann first worked within the
21
Maywood Recreation Department, where he taught tumbling and
22
she taught dance, coordinating all-day park programming for

HR0616
- 2 -
LRB104 19936 LAW 33386 r
1
neighborhood children; the couple then established the
2
Stairway of the Stars Dance Studio and Mr. Ernie's Flip, Flop
3
and Fly Tumbling School; and

4

WHEREAS, Ernie and Lois Baumann continued to pursue their
5
mission of keeping the arts accessible, affordable, and
6
centered on children by founding the nonprofit Maywood Fine
7
Arts in 1996; they faced a serious setback when Maywood Fine
8
Arts' beloved dance studio, housed in the former Maywood Opera
9
House, was destroyed by fire in 2010; through a grassroots
10
campaign called Raising the Barre and the efforts of students,
11
they were able to raise funds to rebuild; by 2016, they had a
12
new, $2 million, state-of-the-art dance facility; and

13

WHEREAS, Ernie and Lois Baumann transformed Maywood Fine
14
Arts into one of the most enduring and inclusive youth arts
15
institutions in the region, an organization that today serves
16
thousands of children each week and has produced multiple
17
generations of alumni working across the arts, education, and
18
entertainment industries; and

19

WHEREAS, Ernie Baumann was a husband, father, grandfather,
20
mentor, and friend who will be remembered for the positive
21
impact he made on the arts, his community, and the lives of his
22
students; therefore, be it

HR0616
- 3 -
LRB104 19936 LAW 33386 r
1

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
2
HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3
we mourn the passing of Ernie Baumann and extend our sincere
4
condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved
5
him; and be it further

6

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7
presented to the family of Ernie Baumann as an expression of
8
our deepest sympathy.

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