Flags Lower, Roads Close for Firefighter's Friday Procession
West Dundee plans traffic detours as Illinois lowers flags for Greg Witt, who died after a training exercise.
By Marco Whitaker ·
Illinois flags will fly at half-staff this week for a firefighter who died after a training exercise.
Greg Witt, 35, a member of the Rutland-Dundee Fire Protection District based in Gilberts, died Oct. 25. He had taken ill during training days earlier. A resolution from Gov. JB Pritzker states that Witt died in the line of duty. Pritzker ordered flags lowered from sunrise Thursday through sundown Friday.
A funeral procession for Witt is set for Friday morning in West Dundee. The village said temporary closures and traffic delays will begin around 7 a.m. near Grafelman Park, Washington Street, and Miller Funeral Home. The intersection of Routes 31 and 72 will close at about 8 a.m. to let the procession pass. West Dundee expects that closure to last about 30 minutes. Public safety personnel will direct motorists.
Witt grew up in the area and graduated from Jacobs High School in Algonquin in 2009. He earned an associate degree in Fire Science and Safety from Elgin Community College in 2020. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 2013 to 2018 and reached the rank of sergeant. He joined the Rutland-Dundee Fire Department in 2019.
A visitation for family and friends is planned Friday morning at The Venue at Goebbert's Farm in Pingree Grove. A service follows at a Dundee Township church, with a private burial afterward. Witt is survived by his mother, Mary, and two brothers. His father, Scott, preceded him in death.
The family has asked that memorial donations go to the Rutland-Dundee FPD Memorial Fund, care of the district at P.O. Box 203, Gilberts, IL 60136. Those funds will support a scholarship in Witt's name.
