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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
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| 3 | Representatives are pleased to honor our friend and colleague,
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| 4 | Illinois State Representative Sandy Cole, for her years
of | ||||||
| 5 | dedicated service to the people of the State of Illinois; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Representative Cole was born on December 29, 1953, | ||||||
| 7 | in
Green Bay, Wisconsin; she earned her bachelor of science | ||||||
| 8 | degree from
Rockford College in 1976, where she majored in | ||||||
| 9 | graphic arts, minored in
mathematics, and received a secondary | ||||||
| 10 | education teaching certificate;
and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Representative Cole spent 10 years serving on the | ||||||
| 12 | Lake County Board
representing the 11th District from | ||||||
| 13 | 1996-2006; she has been a leader on a wide
variety of issues | ||||||
| 14 | including open space, environmental protection, and
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| 15 | transportation; she was widely regarded as a budget hawk on the | ||||||
| 16 | Lake County
Board and helped to set policy and direction for | ||||||
| 17 | the county's budget; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Representative Cole served as a Forest Preserve | ||||||
| 19 | Commissioner, helping
the Forest Preserve District acquire | ||||||
| 20 | more than 7,000 acres of forest preserve land; she served as a | ||||||
| 21 | director on the Solid Waste Agency of Lake
County from | ||||||
| 22 | 1998-2006, and as a director for the Soil and Water | ||||||
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| 1 | Conservation District
of Lake County from 1994-1996; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Representative Cole served as the State | ||||||
| 3 | representative of
the 62nd District from 2007 to 2013 where she | ||||||
| 4 | championed her
"Family Focus" legislative agenda, a | ||||||
| 5 | comprehensive list of legislative
priorities aimed at | ||||||
| 6 | improving the quality of life for families and
communities in | ||||||
| 7 | Lake County and throughout Illinois; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS Representative Cole has been a leader in the | ||||||
| 9 | General Assembly on women's health issues by hosting women and | ||||||
| 10 | senior health and wellness fairs,
and also by fighting hard to | ||||||
| 11 | help pass legislation to fund the Sexual Assault Services
and | ||||||
| 12 | Prevention Fund, which helps provide critical services to women | ||||||
| 13 | in need; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS Representative Cole was instrumental in securing | ||||||
| 15 | open space
grants for the Lake County Forest Preserve District, | ||||||
| 16 | Lake Villa Township,
and the Round Lake Area Park District for | ||||||
| 17 | the construction of hiking trails,
playgrounds, soccer fields, | ||||||
| 18 | and other recreational facilities for the
constituents of the | ||||||
| 19 | 62nd District; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Representative Cole has been a strong voice for | ||||||
| 21 | fiscal responsibility,
consistently voting to slash her own pay | ||||||
| 22 | and working to balance the budget while
holding the line on | ||||||
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| 1 | taxes to protect the citizens of Illinois; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Representative Cole has placed children's safety | ||||||
| 3 | as a top priority
including an expansion to the Infant Safe | ||||||
| 4 | Haven laws, allowing mothers who
are in crisis or who have | ||||||
| 5 | nowhere else to turn a solution for the safety and
well-being | ||||||
| 6 | of the infant, and she also fought to enhance
Illinois prison | ||||||
| 7 | sentences to those that commit sexual crimes against
children; | ||||||
| 8 | and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Representative Cole, being a member of the | ||||||
| 10 | Illinois Alzheimer's
Legislators Alliance, has fought to bring | ||||||
| 11 | awareness to this devastating disease; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Representative Cole has sponsored a number of | ||||||
| 13 | community
events to assist children, families, and senior | ||||||
| 14 | citizens, including an Autism
forum for families affected by | ||||||
| 15 | children with autism, a family internet
safety seminar for | ||||||
| 16 | parents and their kids, an unemployment insurance
workshop for | ||||||
| 17 | small businesses, a veterans services forum, a business
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| 18 | prosperity town hall focused on state fiscal issues and several | ||||||
| 19 | outreach events
for local senior citizens; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Representative Cole has lived in Lake County for | ||||||
| 21 | over 27 years and has been
married to Stephen Cole for 29 | ||||||
| 22 | years; they have 3 children, 2 daughters
and one son and one | ||||||
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| 1 | grandchild, Annabel; therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 3 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 4 | we honor our friend and colleague, Illinois State
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| 5 | Representative Sandy Cole, for her years of dedicated service | ||||||
| 6 | to the people of
this State and wish her great success and | ||||||
| 7 | happiness in her future endeavors;
and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
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| 9 | presented to Representative Cole as a symbol of our esteem and | ||||||
| 10 | respect.
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