HR0328 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0328 LRB102 18571 MST 26863 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Thomas Q. Weitzel on the occasion of his retirement as police chief for the City of Riverside; and

WHEREAS, Chief Weitzel has been with the Riverside Police Department since September 1984; he has held various positions within the department, including Crime Prevention Coordinator, Evidence Technician, Public Information Officer (PIO), MCAT member (Major Crime Assistance Team), Field Training Officer, and Internal Affairs Supervisor; he became police chief in 2008; prior to joining the Riverside Police Department, he served as a patrolman for the Chicago Zoological Park Police at Brookfield Zoo; and

WHEREAS, Chief Weitzel has received the Kevlar/DuPont Survivor's Club Award (1987), the Police Valor Award (1997), the Police Medal of Honor (1998), the Distinguished Public Servant Award (2005), the Cook County Sheriff's Law Enforcement Award of Merit (2006), and the Gazette Newspaper Public Official of the Year Award (2006); he has over 200 Honorable Mentions and Commendation letters from citizens and police departments and is a published author on the subject of law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, Chief Weitzel is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Police Benevolent Association, the Illinois Police Association, the Northwestern University Alumni Association, the International Association for Identification, the Illinois Crime Prevention Officers Association, the West Suburban Chiefs of Police Association, and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police; and

WHEREAS, Chief Weitzel holds a master's degree in criminal social justice from Lewis University and is a graduate of the Illinois Law Enforcement Executive Institute's Executive Management program; he was recently honored as a Certified Police Chief for the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Chief Weitzel is a graduate of the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety School of Staff and Command, where he served as Vice President of Class 115; he holds certificates of graduation from the Institute of Police Technology and Management at the University of North Florida, the National Crime Prevention Institute in Louisville, Kentucky, the F.B.I National Academy in Quantico, Virginia (Session 218), The Police Executive Role in the 21st Century in Bloomington, and the Law Enforcement Executive Development Program (LEEDA) F.B.I.; he is a graduate of the Southwestern Law Enforcement Institute's Center for Law Enforcement Ethics in Richardson, Texas; he is a nationally certified ethics instructor through the Southwest Legal Foundation; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Thomas Q. Weitzel on his retirement as police chief for the City of Riverside, and we wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Chief Weitzel as a symbol of our respect and esteem.