Bush Honors Gillis for Work With Victims

Alhambra resident John Gillis was recently honored by President Bush for his service to victims of violent crime.

At an April 22 ceremony, Bush called Gillis and the six other recipients of the annual Victims Services Award “seven good Americans who refused to surrender.”

Gillis became involved in victims’ organizations after his daughter, Louarna , was abducted and murdered in 1979. Gillis, a retired Los Angeles police lieutenant, initially met with the support group Parents of Murdered Children.

But he felt something more needed to be done, so in 1981, he helped start a lobbying organization called Justice for Homicide Victims, which last year successfully pushed for passage of Proposition 115, the Crime Victims Justice Reform Act.

In addition, he has been involved in two groups that coordinate activities of victims organizations: the statewide Coalition on Victim’s Equal Rights and the National Victim Center. Gillis also serves on the California State Parole Board and the Alhambra Police Facility Advisory Committee, which is pushing for a new police station in Alhambra.