HR0527 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0527 LRB104 16029 MST 29290 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Andrew Freiheit is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who cast his lot with the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Andrew Freiheit is a proud graduate of North Central College; and

WHEREAS, Andrew Freiheit joined the House Republican staff through the Illinois Legislative Staff Internship (ILSIP) Program in 1993-1994, quickly gaining expertise in revenue matters for the spring 1994 session; and

WHEREAS, In January 1995, when the Republicans gained the Illinois House of Representatives majority, then-House Republican Speaker Lee Daniels and his Chief of Staff, Mike Stokke, chose Andrew Freiheit to be the lead House staffer to assist the chairperson of the House Revenue Committee, Maureen Murphy; and

WHEREAS, Andrew Freiheit worked tirelessly during the 1995 spring session to enact a key bill, P.A. 89-1, to extend property tax caps to the population of Cook County, which numbered 5,105,067 residents as of the 1990 census, and to enact other essential tax reforms; and

WHEREAS, The Cook County property tax system required further reforms, and HB 1465 of the 89th General Assembly, originally drafted under Andrew Freiheit's coordination, created the three-person Cook County Board of Review with the right of appeal to the statewide Property Tax Appeal Board; and

WHEREAS, HB 1465, as signed into law as P.A. 89-126, remains law to this day, granting property tax appeal rights to the owners of more than 1.8 million parcels of Cook County real property; and

WHEREAS, Temporarily leaving Illinois House service after the 1997 session, Andrew Freiheit began working with the Civic Federation; and

WHEREAS, Former Representative Maureen Murphy was, during this time, working towards election as a member of the newly-created Cook County Board of Review; and

WHEREAS, In December 1988, Andrew Freiheit joined Rep. Murphy as her chief of staff when she was elected as one of the inaugural members of the Cook County Board of Review; and

WHEREAS, As a resident of the Chicago area, Andrew Freiheit enrolled at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, with the goal of becoming an Illinois attorney; and

WHEREAS, Andrew Freiheit rejoined the Illinois House Republican Staff for the spring 2008 session, serving under House Republican Leader Tom Cross and staffing the House Gaming Committee; and

WHEREAS, As a licensed attorney, Andrew Freiheit began serving House Republican Leader Cross and the House Republican Caucus in August 2008 as the House Republican Ethics Officer and general counsel, as well as staffing the House Executive Committee and other committees; and

WHEREAS, In September 2015, Andrew Freiheit, a trusted confidant of House Republican leadership, assumed the position of chief of staff under House Republican Leader Jim Durkin following the retirement of Chief of Staff Scott Reimers; and

WHEREAS, Andrew Freiheit served as chief of staff during several of Illinois' most tumultuous periods of governance, including the budget impasse of 2015-2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic, counseling the House Republican Caucus on the best path forward for the State; and

WHEREAS, Andrew Freiheit oversaw and supervised a complete operational shift during the pandemic, moving from traditional in-person hearings and meetings to a fully remote operation, enabling the House Republican Caucus to remain cohesive under extraordinary circumstances; and

WHEREAS, In addition, Andrew Freiheit oversaw and coordinated the social distance-staffing of an extraordinary May 2020 session of the Illinois House located not in the historic legislative chamber but in the BOS Center (Bank of Springfield Center) at another downtown Springfield location, with members and select staff seated far apart from each other based on the best available science at the time; and

WHEREAS, Despite these challenges, Andrew Freiheit retained the support of members of the House Republican Caucus, who respected how he had overseen their staffing and operations during the period of harsh orders that accompanied the COVID-19 epidemic; and

WHEREAS, When new House Republican Leader Tony McCombie assumed the leadership of the caucus in January 2023, she retained Andrew Freiheit as her chief of staff, which was a testament to his ability to serve the needs of the entire caucus; and

WHEREAS, Andrew Freiheit continued his service as House Republican Chief of Staff under Leader Tony McCombie until his retirement on July 31, 2025; and

WHEREAS, When he retired, Andrew Freiheit was known throughout the Illinois House as a man of character, friendship, and genuine kindness and generosity to all; and

WHEREAS, As a former legislative intern who pursued public service throughout his working life, ending up as chief of staff of one of the four legislative caucuses of the Illinois General Assembly, Andrew Freiheit was inducted into the Samuel K. Gove Illinois Legislative Internship Program Hall of Fame on October 27, 2025; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Andrew Freiheit on his induction into the Samuel K. Gove Illinois Legislative Internship Hall of Fame and thank him for his years of exceptional public service; and be it further

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