CICERO – Berwyn natives Jim Peterik, Joseph Sisco and Paul Sisco went on to accomplish great things after graduating from Morton College, and now, the college is honoring their illustrious careers that began at the Cicero community college. The three notable alumni were inducted into Morton College's Hall of Fame in an inaugural ceremony Feb. 10.

Peterik, Paul Sisco and the daughter of the late Joseph Sisco, along with Morton College President Stan Fields, each gave a few remarks at the ceremony, and the honorees were presented with a gift from the college. The men’s names also will be engraved on a plaque that lines a hallway in the college.

Jim O’Connell, student development liason and Hall of Fame Committee member, said the three men were very deserving of being in the first Hall of Fame class because of the significant contributions each made to their respective fields.

“There are many alumni who are worthy, but these are three of the most influential and important in the arenas of music, global affairs and broadcast journalism,” he said. “A lot of names came up, but these three stood out. We believe this is the start of a great tradition at Morton College, and we’re very excited about it.”

Joseph Sisco

The late Joseph Sisco, who graduated from Morton College in 1939, was one of the highest-ranking members of the State Department and worked with four presidential administrations. He worked closely with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on the Middle East shuttle diplomacy missions in the 1970s. Sisco was an expert on the Soviet Union and the Middle East. He died in 2004 at the age of 85.

His daughter, Carol Sisco, said despite her father’s magnificent accomplishments, he never forgot his roots. She said her dad took her and her sister to Morton College when they visited Chicago and Berwyn. She said Morton College provided him with a good education, and he took advantage of the opportunities it provided him. After graduating from Morton in 1939, Sisco earned a degree from Knox College and later a doctorate from University of Chicago.

“He was grateful to Morton because it gave him the educational opportunities to thrive at Knox and then the University of Chicago,” she said. “He was committed to school, and I know he would be enormously proud of this honor.”

Paul Sisco

Paul Sisco, the younger brother of Joseph, was a pioneer in broadcast journalism. After graduating from Morton College in 1948, he earned a degree in journalism from the University of Illinois before beginning his career at United Press International’s TV news division in Chicago.

He was later transferred to UPI’s Washington bureau, which was later bought by ABC. He covered many historical events for the network, including the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby, President Lyndon Johnson’s decision not to seek reelection and Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. He retired in 1999 at age 72.

Sisco, 91, said his two years at Morton College were among the best two years of his life.

“I’m flattered, of course. I’m not so sure I deserve it, but I’m certainly honored,” he said. “I always wanted to go to Morton. I never had an itch to go away to a four-year school right away. I remember Morton had tremendous athletic teams. It was just a good time.”

Jim Peterik

Not many students have a song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart while attending college, but while at Morton College, Peterik and his band, Ides of March, had their hit single “Vehicle” reach No. 2 in 1970. The song remains the fastest-selling single in Warner Bros. Records’ history. Peterik played with some of the most iconic musicians of the 1960s and 1970s, including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, while touring with Ides of March.

The Grammy Award-winning artist also wrote or co-wrote many other top 10 hits while a member of the band Survivor, including “Eye of the Tiger,” “The Search is Over,” “Burning Heart” and “I Can’t Hold Back.”

Peterik, who still tours with Ides of March and lives in the Chicago area, said he remembers bringing his guitar to Morton College and playing his songs for students in the hallways. He graduated from the college in 1970.

“It was a great atmosphere. Those were two of my greatest years,” he said. “I was honored to go to Morton College, and when I found out about [the Hall of Fame], I was blown away. It meant so much to be honored by a school I love. I have so many good memories of the great teachers that inspired me to write great lyrics.”