HR1560 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1560 LRB096 24353 KXB 43928 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to recognize State Representative Suzanne "Suzie" Bassi for her years of service and hard work on behalf of the people of the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Representative Bassi was first elected in 1998 to serve the people of the 54th District, which includes portions of Arlington Heights, Barrington, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Palatine, and Rolling Meadows; and

WHEREAS, Representative Bassi taught English and French for 10 years before retiring to raise a family and being elected to the District 15 Board of Education; and

WHEREAS, Representative Bassi has received numerous awards throughout her years of service, including Legislator of the Year from the Suburban Area Agency on Aging, being named the Champion of Free Enterprise by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, and being named a Friend of Agriculture by the Illinois Farm Bureau; in addition, she was also awarded a fellowship to the Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development; and

WHEREAS, During her freshman legislative year she had the opportunity to serve as a member of the United States Trade Mission to the Republic of South Africa, where she participated in the opening of the new Illinois Trade Office in Johannesburg, South Africa; and

WHEREAS, There is no denying Representative Bassi, known for her poker face, is passionate about good public policy; she fought diligently against unfunded school mandates and frequently read the litany of classroom responsibilities of public school teachers such as teaching the "Three B's", broccoli, bladder control, and bullying, in addition to teaching the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic; and

WHEREAS, Representative Bassi fought for mass transit improvements; downsized government through CMAP; school violence prevention; crackdown on gun violence; increased penalties for sex offenders and drug users; increased funding for local schools; expanded pharmaceutical coverage through the Circuit Breaker/IL Rx programs; increased permit and inspection regulations for carnival and amusement rides; and provided GPS tracking for victims of domestic violence through the Cindy Bischof Law; and

WHEREAS, Representative Bassi was one of nine Republicans to serve on the 21-member House Special Investigative Committee to Impeach former Governor Rod Blagojevich; and

WHEREAS, She served as the Republican spokesperson for Elementary & Secondary Education, Tourism & Conventions, Infrastructure, and Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Education House committees; and she served as a member of the Mass Transit, Revenue and Finance, Minority Procurement, and State Government Administration committees; and

WHEREAS, Representative Bassi is an active member of the Conference of Women Legislators, a member of the Task Force on Alzheimer's, and the Task Force on Re-Enrolling High School Drop-outs; and

WHEREAS, Representative Bassi grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and later lived in Des Moines, Iowa, where she graduated from St. Joseph's High School in 1962; she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, in 1966; and completed her MAT at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1973; and

WHEREAS, Representative Bassi and her husband, Roger, have three children, Carrie, Steve, and Greg; and two grandsons; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Representative Suzanne "Suzie" Bassi on her retirement from the Illinois House of Representatives and wish her the best in her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to State Representative Suzanne "Suzie" Bassi as a symbol of our respect and esteem.