Full Text of SR1071 97th General Assembly
SR1071 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Since his election in 1990 to the House of | 3 | | Representatives, Illinois State Senator Jeffrey M. Schoenberg | 4 | | has served his constituents and the State of Illinois in the | 5 | | General Assembly, completing 6 terms in the House and 3 terms | 6 | | in the Senate and establishing himself as one of this State's | 7 | | most accomplished legislators; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Having served on the Economic and Fiscal | 9 | | Commission for 10 years, Senator Schoenberg was appointed in | 10 | | 2003 to co-chair the Commission, which, in 2004, was given | 11 | | additional responsibilities and renamed the Commission on | 12 | | Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA); he ably | 13 | | oversaw the bipartisan panel's evaluation of contentious | 14 | | issues, such as tollway privatization, State employee health | 15 | | insurance contracts, State pensions, and proposed facility | 16 | | closures, and ensured that COGFA remained a credible and | 17 | | reasonable voice in policy debates; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg has chaired the House | 19 | | Appropriations I Committee (1995-2002), the House Special | 20 | | Committee on State Procurement (1999-2000), the Senate State | 21 | | Government Committee (2003-2004) and the Senate Appropriations | 22 | | II Committee (2005-2008), and has served as vice-chair or | 23 | | member of numerous other House and Senate committees; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg has become an expert on | 2 | | contracting and procurement issues and, through his | 3 | | legislative efforts to make government more efficient, has | 4 | | saved the State of Illinois and its taxpayers millions of | 5 | | dollars; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg spearheaded the investigation | 7 | | into corruption surrounding the Illinois Toll Highway | 8 | | Authority and secured the enactment of accountability | 9 | | measures, citizen petition recognition, stricter ethics | 10 | | regulations, alignment of purchasing practices with the | 11 | | Illinois Procurement Code, and the open competitive bidding | 12 | | process; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg sponsored multiple components | 14 | | of a comprehensive ethics reform package to reform the State's | 15 | | approach to Freedom of Information Act requests, campaign | 16 | | contribution limits, and elected officials' pay; he also worked | 17 | | to restore public confidence in State government by dismantling | 18 | | the scandal-ridden legacies of 2 corrupt governors' | 19 | | administrations; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg has sought consistently to | 21 | | protect and improve health care in Illinois and was the chief | 22 | | architect of the Illinois Hospital Assessment Plan, which |
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| 1 | | enables the State to leverage federal Medicaid dollars to pay | 2 | | health care providers; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg sponsored and successfully | 4 | | passed legislation requiring State pension funds to divest | 5 | | their holdings in foreign companies that do business with | 6 | | Iran's energy industry, the key source of financing for Iran's | 7 | | nuclear weapons program; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg sponsored legislation | 9 | | establishing a Budget Stabilization or "rainy day" fund to | 10 | | encourage fiscal responsibility in State government; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg supported the Illinois Safe | 12 | | Choice Zones Act, which establishes civil and criminal | 13 | | penalties for interfering with individuals entering or leaving | 14 | | medical facilities, including those that perform abortions; | 15 | | and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg has advocated for stricter gun | 17 | | control measures limiting firearm purchases and enabling law | 18 | | enforcement officials to better trace firearm use among | 19 | | juveniles; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg has served as the Democratic | 21 | | Committeeman of Evanston Township, coordinator for Bill |
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| 1 | | Bradley's 2000 presidential campaign, and a delegate to the | 2 | | 2000 and 2004 Democratic National Conventions; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg served as Senate Assistant | 4 | | Majority Leader from 2009 to 2012; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg has received numerous awards | 6 | | in recognition of his legislative accomplishments and | 7 | | commitment to his constituents and sound public policy; these | 8 | | include, most recently, Community Health's Public Service | 9 | | Award, a lifetime achievement award from the Jewish Federation | 10 | | of Metropolitan Chicago, the SHALVA Award for his opposition to | 11 | | domestic abuse, and the Illinois Environmental Council's | 12 | | highest rating for a State Senator; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Senator Schoenberg, having dedicated so much of | 14 | | his life to public service, nevertheless counts his family and | 15 | | his faith as his highest priorities and is honored to be the | 16 | | devoted husband of his wife, Lynne Sered, and proud father of | 17 | | his 2 children; therefore, be it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 19 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Senator | 20 | | Jeffrey M. Schoenberg for his 22 years of service in the | 21 | | Illinois General Assembly, acknowledging the inestimable value | 22 | | of his institutional knowledge, innovative approaches, |
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| 1 | | deeply-held principals, and boundless energy in pursuit of the | 2 | | public good; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 | | presented to Senator Schoenberg as a symbol of our esteem and | 5 | | with our best wishes for his future endeavors.
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