Firefighter Funeral Friday to Close Routes 31 and 72 in West Dundee

West Dundee will close key roads Friday morning for a funeral procession honoring Greg Witt, a firefighter and Marine Corps veteran who died after falling ill during a training exercise.

Witt, 35, served with the Rutland-Dundee Fire Protection District based in Gilberts. He died Oct. 25, days after the medical emergency occurred at the training. The village said temporary road closures and traffic delays should be expected in the Old Town neighborhood beginning around 7 a.m. Friday, particularly near Grafelman Park, Washington Street, and Miller Funeral Home. The intersection of Routes 31 and 72 will close at approximately 8 a.m. to allow the procession to pass. That closure is expected to last about a half hour. Public safety personnel will direct motorists through the area.

A visitation for family and friends is scheduled Friday morning at The Venue at Goebbert's Farm in Pingree Grove, followed by a service at a Dundee Township church and a private burial. The Village of West Dundee said it extends condolences to Witt's family, friends, and fellow firefighters, and thanked residents for their cooperation during the closures.

Witt graduated from Jacobs High School in Algonquin in 2009 and earned an associate degree in Fire Science and Safety from Elgin Community College in 2020, according to his obituary. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 2013 to 2018 and attained the rank of sergeant before joining the Rutland-Dundee Fire Department in 2019. He was the son of Mary and the late Scott Witt and had two brothers.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker ordered flags lowered from sunrise Thursday to sundown Friday in Witt's honor, with a resolution stating he died in the line of duty. The family has asked that donations in Witt's memory go to the Rutland-Dundee FPD Memorial Fund, care of the district at P.O. Box 203, Gilberts, IL 60136, to help establish a scholarship in his honor.