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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Legislature operates the Commission | ||||||
3 | on Government Forecasting and
Accountability (COGFA), the | ||||||
4 | bipartisan fiscal forecasting arm of the General Assembly; and
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5 | WHEREAS, During the fiscal situation that began with the | ||||||
6 | worldwide economic downturn of 2008-09, the work of COGFA has | ||||||
7 | become increasingly vital as it has provided nonpolitical | ||||||
8 | guidance to
policymakers in and out of the Illinois General | ||||||
9 | Assembly on the somber trends facing the State and
its | ||||||
10 | revenues; and
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11 | WHEREAS, During this challenging time, the Illinois | ||||||
12 | General Assembly and the 12 legislative
members of the | ||||||
13 | Commission have been fortunate to have the services of COGFA's | ||||||
14 | longtime
Executive Director, Dan Long; and | ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, Dan Long graduated from the University of Illinois | ||||||
16 | in 1975 and immediately began
working for the office of | ||||||
17 | Illinois State Comptroller, George W. Lindberg; the office of | ||||||
18 | Comptroller
was created by election in 1972 following | ||||||
19 | ratification of the Constitution of 1970; when
Dan started work | ||||||
20 | for the State of Illinois, our State's new constitutional | ||||||
21 | fiscal structure was less
than two and a half years old; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, After more than 40 years, Dan Long has seen this | ||||||
2 | fiscal structure from almost literally every
angle, including | ||||||
3 | that of Chief Fiscal Officer in the Executive Office of | ||||||
4 | Governor James R.
Thompson, executive rank in several code | ||||||
5 | departments (the former Department of Commerce and
Community | ||||||
6 | Affairs, now DCEO, and the Department of Central Management | ||||||
7 | Services (CMS)), and
executive rank on the legislative staff of | ||||||
8 | Illinois House Republican Leader and House Speaker Lee
A. | ||||||
9 | Daniels; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, In February of 2001, Dan Long was appointed | ||||||
11 | Executive Director of the Illinois Economic
and Fiscal | ||||||
12 | Commission, the legislative support arm that was renamed COGFA | ||||||
13 | in the 2004 budget implementation (BIMP) bill; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, Under law, a key statutory duty of COGFA's | ||||||
15 | permanent staff is to work with the 12
legislative members of | ||||||
16 | the Commission to provide the General Assembly and its members | ||||||
17 | with "the
most reliable and authoritative information | ||||||
18 | available concerning economic developments and trends
in this | ||||||
19 | State and the operations of State Government"; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Soon after Dan Long took over at COGFA in early | ||||||
21 | 2001, these economic developments
and trends turned negative | ||||||
22 | for Illinois, negative in real terms during all too many of | ||||||
23 | these years and
negative in relation to the other 49 U.S. |
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1 | states in almost every year of the past 16; during this period
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2 | of time, Dan's consummate professionalism, low-key | ||||||
3 | personality, and prompt responses to
legislators' inquiries | ||||||
4 | won him the respect of almost every member of the Illinois | ||||||
5 | General Assembly; and
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6 | WHEREAS, It is easy to be popular when one is the bearer of | ||||||
7 | good news, but to be respected when
one is the bearer of bad | ||||||
8 | news is a sign of skill that deserves to be appreciated and | ||||||
9 | remembered for a
long time to come; and
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10 | WHEREAS, After 38 years working for the State of Illinois | ||||||
11 | and after almost 42 years in public sector-related service, and | ||||||
12 | much to the regret of the members of the Commission on | ||||||
13 | Government
Forecasting and Accountability and to the members of | ||||||
14 | the General Assembly as a whole, Dan Long
has announced his | ||||||
15 | retirement effective July 31, 2017; therefore, be it
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16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
17 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE | ||||||
18 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that we thank Dan Long for his almost four | ||||||
19 | decades of public service, culminating in his tenure of more | ||||||
20 | than 16 years as the Executive Director of the Commission on | ||||||
21 | Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA); and be it | ||||||
22 | further |
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1 | RESOLVED, That we mention and praise the role of Dan Long, | ||||||
2 | and COGFA's permanent staff, in
providing guidance to the | ||||||
3 | Illinois General Assembly during the challenging fiscal | ||||||
4 | climate that has
marked the history of Illinois since the | ||||||
5 | events of 2001; and be it further | ||||||
6 | RESOLVED, That we acknowledge the essential role of | ||||||
7 | bipartisan support service agencies to the life
of the Illinois | ||||||
8 | General Assembly, and praise Dan Long and COGFA's permanent | ||||||
9 | staff in their rapid
responses to legislative members of both | ||||||
10 | chambers and both parties as they have searched for data
and | ||||||
11 | guidance to meet these challenges; and be it further | ||||||
12 | RESOLVED, That we wish Dan Long a full life upon his | ||||||
13 | retirement, with the support of his friends,
children, and | ||||||
14 | family; and be it further | ||||||
15 | RESOLVED, That the conference room used by staff to brief | ||||||
16 | members of COGFA at Room 703, Stratton Office Building, | ||||||
17 | Springfield, is renamed and shall be known as the "Dan Long | ||||||
18 | Conference Room"; and be it further
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19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
20 | presented to Dan Long, Executive Director of the
Commission on | ||||||
21 | Government Forecasting and Accountability, as a sign of our | ||||||
22 | deep respect for his
public service.
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