DECATUR â As bagpiper Griffin Coffman played in the background, Lloyd Holman, co-chairman of the Workers Memorial Day ceremony for Decatur Trades & Labor Assembly, read the dozens and dozens of names of Macon County workers who have died on the job.
State Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, was the keynote speaker at the Workers Memorial Day ceremony. CLAY JACKSON, HERALD & REVIEW
Three of those names were new this year: Erick T. Ervin, who worked for Love s Truck Stop and died while trying to rescue a stranded motorist; John E. Sheehy, a firefighter; and State Trooper Todd Hanneken, the most recent death on March 25. Hanneken s family was present to lay the wreath at the memorial on the west side of the Macon County Courthouse.
Today, Wednesday, at 5:30 PM, local workers, union officials and community leaders will gather at the Workers Memorial monument located at the northwest corner of the Macon County Courthouse on Wood Street, for a ceremony to honor workers who have died or suffered illness or injuries while on the job.
The ceremony will include an honor guard, bagpiper, prayer and the laying of the wreath at the monument. Senator Doris Turner will be the keynote speaker and Worker Memorial Chair Lloyd Holman will read the names of all Macon County workers who have died on the job.
Decatur Trades & Labor Assembly has added three names to the monument this year, including that of Illinois State Trooper Todd Hanneken who died on March 25, 2021 while he was on-duty.
The family of Illinois State Trooper Todd Hanneken is making a special request as his funeral approaches. The family is asking for donations to the Illinois State Police Heritage Foundation in lieu of flowers. The foundation supports families through different programs. Hanneken’s funeral will take place today in Mt. Zion followed by a private internment.
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