Will County Gazette

House Joint Resolution 15, a measure introduced by House Assistant Minority Leader Jackie Haas, R-Kanakee, passed the House Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges Committee with bipartisan support.

The measure, according to a news release on Haas’ website, would designate the 315 overpasses on Interstate 57 the Sergeant Marlene R. Rittmanic Memorial Highway in honor of Rittmanic, A Bradley Police Department sergeant killed in the line of duty on Dec. 30, 2021, while investigating a noise complaint at a hotel in Bourbonnais with a fellow officer. The pair encountered a gunman who opened fire, according to the release, and the other officer was hurt in the shooting. 

"Our police officers put their lives in danger with every shift and every call, and Sgt. Rittmanic’s horrific death reminds us of these dangers and the courage of the men and women in blue,” Haas said in a statement on her website. “By designating the overpass near the site of where her life was taken, we honor her heroism for Bradley and the surrounding Kankakee-Bourbonnais area where she worked to serve and protect; as well as for our state."

Haas had introduced the legislation in the 102nd General Assembly as House Joint Resolution 96, however, it was noted adopted by the legislature in time, according to her website. The Republican lawmaker also introduced House Resolution 597 in January 2022 to honor Rittmanic, and that measure was passed in February 2022, according to the lawmaker’s news release.

According to the news release, Rittmanic had served as a police officer for 21 years, and she also was a published poet, amateur photographer and film producer.

Rittmanic and her wife were avid dog rescuers and she was viewed as a leader in community policing. In addition to her wife, Rittmanic also is survived by her father, sisters, a brother, nieces and nephews.