Illinois state Sen. Dave Syverson attends a benefit for Chuck Leonard. | Senator Dave Syverson/Facebook
Illinois state Sen. Dave Syverson attends a benefit for Chuck Leonard. | Senator Dave Syverson/Facebook
Illinois state. Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) is raising awareness about a benefit Saturday for Chuck Leonard, a former assistant football coach for Rockford’s Christian Life School, who is battling cancer.
The benefit was held at Coach's Corner, a bar and grill in Belvidere, Illinois, according to a Facebook post announcing the event. Leonard underwent surgeries on his sinuses earlier this year and later learned that he has nasopharyngeal carcinoma. He spent his summer in the hospital for pain management treatment.
"Great to see the community stepping up to support the Benefit for Chuck Leonard yesterday,” Syverson stated in a Facebook post Sunday. “Our prayers are with Coach Leonard."
The Rockford Register Star notes that Leonard played as a tight end on Belvidere's state title teams in 1993 and 1994. He also coached the Bucs to their last two playoff appearances.
Leonard served as an assistant coach at Christian Life High School for 10 years, according to mystateline.com. He was the head football coach at Belvidere from 2013-2016, and coached at Rockford Lutheran in from 2017-2018.
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