HR0158 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0158 LRB101 11353 ALS 56835 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to commend State Representative Lou Lang on his service to the State of Illinois and the people of the 16th District; and

WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Representative Lang was committed to education funding and property tax reduction; he has supported increases in the minimum wage, opposed efforts to weaken worker compensation laws, and won a seven percent property tax assessment cap for Cook County homeowners; in 2009, he co-sponsored Illinois's marriage equality law, and, in 2017, he co-sponsored HB40, legislation that protects women's reproductive rights; on May 30, 2018, Illinois succeeded in ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment; after 25 years of unsuccessful attempts at ratification, Lang, House Chief Sponsor of the ERA, was celebrated as Illinois became the 37th state to ratify; and

WHEREAS, Representative Lang has been a leader on mental health reform for 30 years; he championed several major bills dealing with mental health and healthcare reform, including as Chief Sponsor of HB1, a bill legalizing Medical Cannabis in Illinois; as the national opioid crisis increasingly worsened, he was the Chief Sponsor of the Heroin Crisis Act, a bill used as a national model for battling the Heroin epidemic; in 2017, he was the Chief Sponsor of HR 378, a resolution elevating awareness for maternal mental health; he both authored and was the Chief Sponsor of SB1707, which was dubbed the strongest mental health parity law in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Representative Lang was considered the resident expert in Springfield on all issues regarding gaming; for many years, he was a member of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and the Ethics Committee, which he also chaired; he chaired the Jewish Caucus; he has a long history of mentoring freshmen in the House, as well as helping political candidates throughout the State; and

WHEREAS, Representative Lang is the Niles Township Democrats Committeeman, a position he's held for over a decade; he is also on the Executive Board of the Cook County Democratic Party; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commend State Representative Lou Lang on his distinguished service to the State of Illinois and the people of the 16th District; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Representative Lang as an expression of our esteem and respect.