HR0066

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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the 
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State of Illinois wish to honor John Bouman on being named 
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president of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law 
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on January 1, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The Shriver Center was established in 1967 to 
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champion law and policy for low-income people; John Bouman 
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joined as the center's director of advocacy in May 1996 after 
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21 years at  the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago;  and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Bouman has worked in several Chicago 
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neighborhoods and has held a position as a specialist in the 
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Foundation's Elderly Law project; he has won numerous awards 
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for his career and accomplishments in antipoverty legal and 
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advocacy work including the John Minor Wisdom Award from the 
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Litigation Section of the American Bar Association in January 
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of 1998 and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association's 
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Kutak-Dodds award in May of 1998; he is recognized for being 
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one of the most effective and thoughtful public benefits 
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advocates in the country and is credited by many for his design 
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and implementation of Illinois's new welfare law in 1997; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He recently has led the successful statewide 
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effort to create the FamilyCare program to provide health 
 


 






HR0066
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LRB095 05394 MST 25483 r




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insurance to up to 300,000 working poor parents of minor 
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children; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He is a 1975 graduate of Valparaiso University 
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School of Law; he is a founding and current member of the 
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steering committee of the National Transitional Jobs Network 
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and is a member of the Chicago Council of Lawyers and the 
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Chicago Bar Association; and

 
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    WHEREAS, John Bouman is one of the nation's leading policy 
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advocates on welfare and economic security, exhibiting a 
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remarkable style that has won major victories for the poor in 
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the era of dramatic welfare reform; his creative ideas on how 
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government policy should assist people to reach their highest 
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aspirations has allowed thousands of poor and low-income people 
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to move into the workforce and escape poverty; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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congratulate John Bouman on being named president of the 
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Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law; and be it 
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further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Mr. Bouman as an expression of our esteem.