HR1631 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1631 LRB095 23097 GRL 53710 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, State Representative Monique D. Davis and the Illinois House of Representatives resolve to congratulate Barack Obama for his ascendency to the office of United States President; and

WHEREAS, Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii; his father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya; his mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas; and

WHEREAS, In 1967, Barack Obama and his family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia; after four years of attending school in Jakarta, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother; when he was in the fifth grade, he enrolled at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979; and

WHEREAS, After high school, Barack Obama studied at the Occidental College in Los Angeles, California for two years; he then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science; and

WHEREAS, After working at Business International Corporation, a company that provided international business information to corporate clients, and NYPIRG, Barack Obama moved to Chicago in 1985; in Chicago, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents in Chicago's Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the South Side; and

WHEREAS, In 1988, Barack Obama entered Harvard Law School; in February of 1990, he was elected the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review; in 1991, he graduated from Harvard magna cum laude; after law school, he returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer, joining the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland; he also taught at the University of Chicago Law School and he helped organize voter registration drives during Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign; and

WHEREAS, Barack Obama's advocacy work for the less fortunate led him to run for the Illinois State Senate; he was elected in 1996 from the south side neighborhood of Hyde Park; as a State Senator, he worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics, expanding health care services, and the creation of early childhood education programs for the poor; he also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor and worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases; and

WHEREAS, In 2000, Barack Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush; not one to rest on his laurels, he decided to run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald in 2004; receiving 70 percent of the vote, he once again achieved victory with the largest electoral victory in Illinois history; upon winning the election, he became only the third African American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction; and

WHEREAS, Immediately going into action after he was sworn into office on January 4, 2005, Barack Obama partnered with Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana on a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia and with Republican Sen. Tom Corburn of Oklahoma to create a website that tracks all federal spending; he was also the first to raise the threat of avian flu on the Senate floor, spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina, pushed for alternative energy development, and championed improved veterans' benefits; he also worked with Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by lobbyists to members of Congress; and

WHEREAS, In February of 2007, Barack Obama made headlines and history when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination; after a successful primary bid, he went on to achieve victory against opponent John McCain, once again making history as the first African-American President in history; and

WHEREAS, In 1988, Barack Obama met his wife, Michelle, when he was a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin; they were married in October of 1992; together, they have two daughters, Malia and Sasha; and

WHEREAS, Barack Obama's incredible success in government makes him a shining beacon of Illinois' Lincoln legacy and a role model for the people of this State, the nation, and the world; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Barack Obama for his ascendency to the office of United States President and give him our best wishes for his bright future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we recognize both the momentous occasion of his election and recognize the significant barriers of progress that have been breached by this paradigm shift in politics; and be it further

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