Robert F. Casey had the innate ability to walk into any situation, size it up and immediately establish order.
That skill was put to use several times when the former member of the Illinois House of Representatives took on several interim roles in Kane County and for the state.
“It must have been a daunting task to take over the [Kane County] state’s attorney’s office,” said George Brannen, his friend and partner in the St. Charles law firm Casey, Brannen & Romag. “But he had this extraordinary ability take over. Nothing was intimidating to him.” Mr. Casey headed the county office from 1988 to 1992.
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Mr. Casey, 85, of Batavia died of heart failure Saturday, Oct. 7, in his home.
Mr. Casey was a lifelong Republican politician who jumped in to help wherever needed, his friends said.
“He did it just to help out,” said friend Phil Elfstrom, former chairman of the Kane County Board. “He was not trying to get ahead. Whenever you asked him for something, he would help out.”
Mr. Casey served as a Republican state representative for the 35th District from 1957 to 1962, when he was defeated. He also served an interim one-year term in 1979.
In 1976, he was named special state’s attorney for Kane County and served as chairman of the state Motor Vehicle Review Board from 1996 to 1999. A year later he was appointed by then-Gov. George Ryan to be administrator and special counsel to the Illinois Gaming Board, a position he held until 2001.
“He really enjoyed public service and he enjoyed the give and take of the people involved in public service,” said another friend, Kane County State’s Atty. John Barsanti. “He formed relationships with people and he kept those relationships going. You always knew you could talk to Bob and he would always be there for you.”
Born in Borton, Ill., Mr. Casey moved with his family to the South Side of Chicago, and he graduated from Hirsch High School. He spent two years at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, but left when he enlisted in the Navy. During World War II he was a pilot on an aircraft carrier and had to ditch two planes in the Pacific Ocean.
After the war he returned to Illinois and received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the university in 1948.
For a short time, he worked as an attorney for the Burlington Northern Railroad.
He moved to Aurora and joined the firm of Sears and Streit in 1952. After working with another firm, he began his own in 1968. Casey and Associates evolved into Casey and Krippner before the practice moved to St. Charles.
“He had a unique ability to mediate and bring warring sides together,” Brannen said. “You always walked away feeling better from a conversation with Bob than you did when you started it.”
Three years ago, Mr. Casey left the office but continued to practice law out of his home, said his daughter, Carole Boone.
“He was still practicing out of his basement, and I was his secretary for 30 years,” his daughter said. “He never really retired. It was not him.”
Other survivors include his wife, Delores, whom he married in 1965; another daughter, Christine Kline; stepdaughter, Phyllis Bisch; stepsons, Charles and Derek Bisch; a grandson; and several stepgrandchildren.
A memorial service is pending.