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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Gary Dahl represented the constituents of
3Illinois' 38th Senate District with distinction for six years;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, During that time he served as the Republican
6Spokesman on the Local Government and Agriculture Committees,
7as well as serving as a member of the Consumer Protection,
8Human Services, State Government and Veterans Affairs, and
9Transportation Committees; and
 
10    WHEREAS, He served his country in the United States Army at
11the height of the Cold War from 1958 to 1962, including
12numerous assignments across the United States as well as two
13years in Germany; and
 
14    WHEREAS, He worked as a truck driver for 20 years, driving
15large rigs hundreds of thousands of miles during that time; and
 
16    WHEREAS, After the company he worked for shut down, Gary
17Dahl started his own trucking business in 1985, Double D
18Express, which he grew from the ground up into one of Illinois'
19leading trucking companies; and
 
20    WHEREAS, In 1992 he started Double D Warehouse, LLC, which

 

 

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1today has one million square feet of warehousing space on 50
2acres; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Gary Dahl is known for being a loyal and generous
4employer to his more than 200 employees; and
 
5    WHEREAS, He continued that generosity by turning Double D
6Express into an employee-owned company, giving those employees
7a greater say in how their business is run and a greater stake
8in its future; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Gary Dahl has a long history of civic
10responsibility, and is warmly regarded in the Illinois Valley
11and beyond for his generosity and good citizenship; and
 
12    WHEREAS, He has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to
13charity and countless hours of his time to worthy causes; and
 
14    WHEREAS, He has been active in numerous community
15organizations over the years, including Meals on Wheels, the
16Habitat for Humanity Foundation Board, the Peru Rotary, Horizon
17House, the Junior Achievement Board, and numerous church
18boards; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Gary and his wife Debbie Dahl demonstrated their
20love for animals by donating a building and three acres in

 

 

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1LaSalle for the Illinois Valley Animal Rescue's permanent home;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS He served as a board member on the Illinois Valley
4Red Cross for six years, helping that organization's local,
5national, and international relief efforts; and
 
6    WHEREAS, He served as the two-time president of the
7Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce, a position he used to
8promote the local economy and bring businesses to North Central
9Illinois; and
 
10    WHEREAS, During times of local and national disasters, Gary
11Dahl allowed his business's trucks to be used to help the
12victims; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Following the devastating tornado that hit Utica
14and Granville he provided several of his business's trucks to
15be used to store victims' belongings; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Following Hurricane Katrina, he donated several
17of Double D Express's trucks and warehouse space to collect
18items sent to the disaster zone; and
 
19    WHEREAS, As a small-business owner, Gary Dahl was active
20with several groups connected to his work, including the

 

 

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1National Federation of Independent Business, the MidWest
2Truckers Association, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the
3Illinois Trucking Association, the American Trucking
4Association, and the Distribution and LTL Carriers
5Association; and
 
6    WHEREAS, After years of disappointment and frustration
7with the direction of state government, Gary Dahl decided to
8run for the office of State Senator; and
 
9    WHEREAS, He campaigned on the platform that government
10should be about "the next generation, not the next election";
11and
 
12    WHEREAS, That message resounded with the voters of the 38th
13District, who elected him their new State Senator in 2004 in a
14come-from-behind upset victory, his first try at elective
15office; and
 
16    WHEREAS, As Senator he always told it like it is, often
17taking on the powerful interests and government bureaucracy on
18behalf of his constituents; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Senator Dahl stood up for his principles during
20his time in the Illinois Senate, including fiscal
21responsibility, low taxation, and a limited government

 

 

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1accountable to the people, rather than vice-versa; and
 
2    WHEREAS, With the help of his district aides Jen Riva,
3Agatha Brennan, and O.J. Stoutner, Senator Dahl established a
4top-tier constituent outreach operation that helped make
5government work for the taxpayer; and
 
6    WHEREAS, He fulfilled his campaign promise to donate his
7Senate paycheck to charity, eventually donating more than
8$400,000 to local charities through the Gary Dahl Charity Fund;
9and
 
10    WHEREAS, His dedication as a public servant and no-nonsense
11approach to government led voters to reelect him with more than
1260 percent of the vote in 2008; and
 
13    WHEREAS, He was the three-time winner of the Kankakee
14County Fair's celebrity goat-milking contest, a feat yet to be
15matched; and
 
16    WHEREAS, He sponsored and passed legislation that raised
17public awareness of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome
18(RSDS) a debilitating, neurological syndrome that impacts more
19than 500,000 Americans; and
 
20    WHEREAS, He has won numerous awards and recognitions for

 

 

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1his work in the Senate, including the Red Cross's Prairie State
2Good Neighbor Award, the Illinois Chamber's Guardian of Small
3Business, and the Illinois Farm Bureau Activator Award for
4being a Friend of Agriculture; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Gary Dahl was recognized in 2008 by Easter Seals,
6which honored him with the Outstanding Advocate Award for an
7Elected State Official for his many good works, both in and out
8of office; and
 
9    WHEREAS, As Senator he never forgot his military service
10and those who have served, fighting for and securing the
11funding necessary to staff the LaSalle Veterans' Home's 80-bed
12expansion; and participating as a guardian for two World War II
13veterans in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.; and
 
14    WHEREAS, He retired from the Senate in the best way
15possible, of his own choice, in 2010 in order to spend more
16time with his family and enjoy the warm Arizona winter that has
17proved elusive to the Land of Lincoln; and
 
18    WHEREAS, He has been a dedicated husband to his wife
19Debbie, who has truly been his partner in all areas of life,
20including family, business, community, and politics; and
 
21    WHEREAS, He has been a devoted parent to his children,

 

 

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1step-children, and grandchildren; and
 
2    WHEREAS, He received the Gary W. Davis Ethical Leadership
3Award in 2011 for his commitment to philanthropy and commitment
4to the Illinois Valley Community College as Senator; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Gary Dahl was inducted into the Illinois Valley
6Community College Hall of Fame, class of 2011; therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
8ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Gary Dahl for
9his years of dedicated service to the people of Illinois as a
10veteran, as a businessman, as a philanthropist, and as a
11lawmaker, and honor him with this resolution; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13presented to Gary Dahl with our best wishes for his future.