HR0305

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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Mark W. Schwiebert has provided to the citizens of 
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the City of Rock Island decades of public service, capping off 
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his career as mayor of the City of Rock Island; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert graduated from Rock Island Senior 
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High School in 1968; he participated in the semester studies 
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program in political science at American University in 1970; 
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received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Augustana 
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College in 1972, where he also received an honorary doctorate 
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of humane letters in 2003; and received a juris doctorate 
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degree from Drake University in 1975 and a masters of arts in 
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history in 1976; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert has had a long and distinguished 
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career of public service, beginning as a legislative intern 
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with United States Senator George McGovern in Washington, D.C.; 
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he served as president of the Representative Assembly at 
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Augustana College; mayor pro-tem of the City of Rock Island 
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from 1985 to 1989; a member of the Rock Island City Council 
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from 1981 to 1989; and mayor of the City of Rock Island from 
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1989 to 2009; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert is the founder and chairman of the 
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Rock Island Advanced Technology and Sustainability Consortium; 
 


 






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serves as chairman of the Bi-State Regional Planning 
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Commission; serves as vice-chairman of the Quad Cities 
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Development Group and as chair of the group's Rock Island 
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Arsenal Task Force; and serves as a member of the Quad City 
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Arts Board of Directors, the Rock Island Economic Growth 
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Corporation, the Rock Island Liquor Commission, and as a 
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trustee of the Rausch Foundation I; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert has been an active member of a 
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number of local civic organizations, including the Rock Island 
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Noon Kiwanis, Rock Island Art Guild, and Contemporary Club of 
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the Quad Cities; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In his professional life, Mr. Schwiebert has 
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served as a law clerk, a law lecturer at Marycrest College, is 
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a principal in the law firm of Schwiebert & Schwiebert, and 
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serves on the standing committee on Local Education, Admission, 
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and Competence for the Illinois State Bar Association; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert is a member of the American, 
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Illinois, Iowa, and Rock Island County Bar Associations; the 
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Quad City Estate Planning Council; the National Council on 
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Planned Giving; and the Association for American Justice; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert's work and achievements have 
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earned him numerous awards and honors, including the 
 


 






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Commander's Award for Public Service from the United States 
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Army; the Modern Woodmen of America Community Service Award; 
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the Rock Island Rotary Excellence Award; Distinguished Service 
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Awards from the Illinois Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce and 
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the Rock Island Jaycees; Layperson of the Year Award, Division 
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17, from Kiwanis International; the Spiritual Aims Award from 
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the Rock Island Noon Kiwanis; and the Am Jur Award for 
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Excellence in Business Associates from Drake University; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert was an Inaugural Fellow at the 
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Augustana Institute on Leadership and Public Service; a 
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participant at the National Security Seminar at the United 
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States Army War College; a Supreme Court Day Moot Court 
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Finalist at Drake University; a member of the Omicron Delta 
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Kappa Men's Leadership Fraternity at Augustana College; and an 
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Eagle Scout; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert is the principal sponsor of the 
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Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation, the City of Rock 
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Island Commercial-Industrial Revolving Loan Fund, and the City 
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of Rock Island Historic Preservation Ordinance; he played a 
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leadership role in downtown Rock Island development efforts and 
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Illinois Quad Cities Intergovernmental Cooperation 
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Initiatives; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert has been able to have the fruits of 
 


 






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one of his hobbies, watercolor and oil painting, placed on 
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display at the Solo Exhibit of Watercolors at Studio 15 in 
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Davenport, Iowa in 1992, at the Rock Island Public Library in 
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1993, and at a joint exhibit in 2001; he authored and 
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co-produced text for a CD, "14 Stations, Revisited"; and 
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participated in an archaeological dig in Jerusalem in 1995 and 
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the Sea of Galilee in 2003; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. Schwiebert enjoys traveling, running, 
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weightlifting, watercolor and oil painting, writing, reading, 
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and archeology, and he looks forward to spending more time with 
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his wife, Deborah, following his retirement as mayor; 
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therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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congratulate Mayor Mark Schwiebert on his years of public 
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service to the City of Rock Island and for his commitment to 
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the betterment of the Rock Island community; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Mayor Schwiebert as a symbol of our respect.