SR2150 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Senator Daniel Biss has represented the people of the 9th Senate District of Illinois since his election in 2012; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss began his legislative career in the Illinois House of Representatives in 2011, representing the 17th District; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss received an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude in 1998, and received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss was a professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago from 2002 to 2008; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss dedicated his tenure in the General Assembly to bettering the lives of working Illinois families and furthering progressive causes; and

WHEREAS, As a stalwart advocate of Illinoisans in the face of the complications posed by advances in technology, Senator Biss successfully fought for protections from new technologies, such as drones and GPS devices, and chaired the State's Digital Divide Elimination Advisory Committee; and

WHEREAS, To ensure fairness for Illinois college students in a time of growing student loan debt, Senator Biss passed the Student Loan Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, To protect Illinois youths from provably psychologically harmful practices, Senator Biss worked to ban gay conversion therapy; and

WHEREAS, To protect gay individuals from violence, Senator Biss helped make Illinois one of the first in the country to ban "gay panic" as a defense in cases of murder and manslaughter; and

WHEREAS, To create new opportunities for retiring citizens to safely plan for their future and become one of the first states to actively combat a looming retirement savings crisis, Senator Biss created the Secure Choice Savings Program; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss was the Chair of the Senate Labor Committee during the 100th General Assembly, the Chair of the Senate Labor Committee during the 99th General Assembly, and has served on the Senate Committees of Education, Human Services, Environment and Conservation, Revenue, Executive Appointments, Financial Institutions, Appropriations I, Higher Education, Licensed Activity and Pensions, and Local Government at various times throughout his Senate career; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss received the 2015 Alzheimer's Association Illinois Legislator of the Year Award, the 2016 Richard J. Phelan Profile in Courage Award from Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, the 2014 Community Investment Award from the Woodstock Institute, and the 2012 John W. Maitland Award from the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss currently lives in Evanston with his wife, Karin, and their two children; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss' future endeavors will most certainly bring about the changes our modern society needs; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss remains the only member of the Illinois legislature confirmed to be capable of juggling multiple flaming objects at once; and

WHEREAS, Senator Biss' retirement from the Senate of the State of Illinois will leave the Senate lacking his unique insight into current affairs; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Senator Daniel Biss for his years of service to the people of Illinois and honor him with this resolution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Senator Biss as a symbol of our gratitude and with our best wishes for his future endeavors.