Frankfort’s ‘Maddog’ memories fuel cause
Statewide effort seeks to link Illinois hunters to organ donation registry
A Frankfort family anxiously anticipates Gov. J. B. Pritzker signing into law legislation that will enable hunters to register for organ donation when applying for hunting licenses.
Dubbed “Maddog’s Law,” the legislation honors Maddie Grobmeier, an avid young hunter whose organs were donated to save others.
“A public signing would mean a lot to me and my family,” said Frank Grobmeier, Maddie’s father and executive director of The Maddog Strong Foundation.
The nonprofit, which also bears the nickname Maddie acquired as an infant, aims to educate young adults about organ donation through local community events, speaking engagements and lessons taught in high schools.
In proposing the legislation last fall to state Rep. Tim Ozinga, R-Mokena, Grobmeier said he was inspired by Iowa’s Logan’s Law. That law similarly encourages hunters to register to donate their organs. It too honors a deceased teen whose gift of life saved others,
Because Grobmeier frequently hunted and fished with Maddie, he recognized an opportunity to encourage organ donation through Illinois hunters. “Hunters make up about 2% of Illinois’ population,” he said.
In 2021, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources sold around 272,000 hunting licenses, according to Jayette Bolinski, the agency’s communications director.
Additionally, Grobmeier said, people renew their hunting licenses annually.
“That’s four times as often as people apply for drivers’ licenses which is every four years,” he said.
Under the new law, hunters applying for Illinois licenses online will be redirected to the First Person Consent organ and tissue
donor registry maintained by the Illinois Secretary of State.
“In Illinois, 4,700 people are waiting for an organ transplant,” Grobmeier said. “Around 300 die each year waiting. The more people who sign up, the greater the opportunity for saving lives. … I truly believe we’ll see a day when no one will be on a waiting list.”
House bill 4696 passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly in early April, thanks to Rep. Ozinga, Sen. Christopher Belt, D-Swansea, and other sponsors. Grobmeier described Ozinga, the father of four girls, and Belt, who in 2010 received a kidney transplant, as “passionate supporters” who were able to relate to his request.
While championing the legislation, Sen. Belt noted in his online newsletter, “After living on dialysis for a year, I understand how important organ donors are.”
In 2019, Maddie set an example for others to follow. Having survived a serious car accident with only minor scrapes and bruises, she told her parents that if she ever faced death again and didn’t come through, it was important for her to donate her organs.
Three months later, when Maddie died of an asthma attack the day after her 18th birthday, her last wishes were carried out.
Besides hunting pheasants and ducks with her father, the Lincoln-Way East graduate distinguished herself as a wildlife preservationist. She helped to establish the South Cook County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, Grobmeier said.
She also literally made a mark for herself at Gym-Kinetics in Mokena, where she had trained as a gymnast, starting at age 6. The gym features a larger-than-life mural of Maddie, created by local artist Anthony La Giglia. The image is a tribute to outstanding competitive performances that landed her a gymnastics scholarship at University of Illinois Chicago.
UIC cancelled its gymnastics program along with Maddie’s scholarship, but that does not diminish the merit of her accomplishment.
“She packed a lot of life into her 18 years,” said Grobmeier. “I know she would like to have done many more amazing things.”
Organ donation enabled Maddie to do much more that was amazing, he said, including enable a young woman in her 20s, who was once tethered to a dialysis machine, to resume college studies and start a career. At least two other organ and tissue recipients benefitted as well.
“I think everyone can understand how organ donation saves the life of the recipient, but I think it’s important to consider the benefits for the donor family because we have something good that can come from tragedy,” Grobmeier said.
Sam Grobmeier, Maddie’s older sister, graduates from New York University this spring. She helped to establish The Maddog Strong Foundation three months after Maddie’s death in 2019.
Maddie’s mother, Cyndi G rob meier, a communicationsinstructor at St. Xavier University in Chicago, serves as president of the foundation.
Located near Gym-Kinetics, and within a FifthThird Bank building at 19201 South La Grange Road, the Maddog Strong Foundation has organized local 5K and 10K runs, tree-plantings, organ donor registry signups and speaking engagements.
Maddog Strong’s “Teach Life” program provides curriculum developed by professionals to support lessons about organ donation in high schools.
As far as the Teach Life program goes, it’s no coincidence that high school is when most people first apply for drivers’ licenses and first consider whether to become an organ donor.
“At 16, that’s the first really important decision some teenagers will make about their bodies,” said Grobmeier.
Besides educating new generations of potential organ donors, Maddog Strong also aims to dispel the myth that tissue and organs from older adults are not as valuable.
“Just sign up and let the doctors decide,” Grobmeier said, adding that people in their 90s and even one centenarian have successfully donated organs and tissues.