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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Rachel Costabile, Ashley
4McLeod, Ruth Pligge, Bridget Brown, and Erika Kissel on the
5occasion of the successful creation and operation of their
6small business, Just A Dollop; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Just A Dollop is a microbusiness led by Rachel
8Costabile, Ashley McLeod, and Ruth Pligge with assistance from
9their friends Bridget Brown and Erika Kissel; together, they
10strive to prepare and feature healthy, simple-to-follow
11recipes with "just a dollop" of something special to make
12meals delicious; all five women have developmental
13disabilities; all five women also speak and advocate for
14people with disabilities in Illinois to raise their voices for
15choices about living a full life in the community and
16selecting a home of their choice; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Rachel Costabile, Ashley McLeod, and Ruth Pligge
18are friends and roommates who live together at the 209 House,
19an independent setting located in Naperville, where their
20day-to-day lives are driven by their needs and choices with
21support from a team of social service professionals; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Rachel Costabile is known for her charismatic,

 

 

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1independent spirit; she has spent the past ten years learning
2life skills, living with roommates, traveling to see friends
3in California, working, and volunteering; she works at Lou
4Malnati's Pizzeria and GIA MIA Restaurant in Naperville, and
5she volunteers as a teacher's aide at Briar Glen Elementary
6School; she loves spending time with her friends, crafting,
7and searching the Internet for fun activities, crafts, and
8recipes; she is currently working on improving her art and
9advocacy skills; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Ashley McLeod is an incredible young woman with a
11broad range of gifts and talents; she serves as an advocate for
12herself and others with Down Syndrome, and she has bravely
13navigated many challenges in her life with courage and
14perseverance, becoming an inspirational role model for many
15people in the process; she is a graduate of Harper College and
16an actress; she dreams of teaching others how to cook
17healthier meals; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Ruth Pligge is known for her sense of humor, her
19smile, her independence, and for being the life of the party;
20she is an avid fan of Chicago sports teams, especially the
21Chicago White Sox; she enjoys laughing, telling jokes, texting
22friends and family, working, attending a day program, and
23pursuing her hobbies of solving jigsaw puzzles, collecting
24baseball cards, and bowling; her signature dish is pigs in a

 

 

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1blanket; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Bridget Brown passionately serves as an advocate
3for people with disabilities; one day a week, she travels to
4the University of Illinois Dental School in Chicago, where she
5acts as a children's dental health educator and assistant at
6the pediatric dental clinic; she is currently enrolled at the
7University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) in its new Coop College
8Disabilities Program; she also works with the Pace bus company
9as a spokesperson for Hop on the Bus, a program to assist
10people with disabilities to navigate the Pace bus system; she
11is the vice president of the National Association for Down
12Syndrome; she dreams of becoming a television or movie
13actress, previously acting in the 2012 movie LOL; she loves
14spending time with her friends and participating in the latest
15Just a Dollop adventure; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Erika Kissel is a courageous, spunky, humorous,
17and determined young woman; she has had many opportunities to
18educate and inspire others as a presenter at National Louis
19University, the Arc of Illinois, the National Association for
20Down Syndrome, International Best Buddies, St. Raphael Church,
21the American Culinary Federation, and the Chicago Chefs of
22Cuisine Association; she is an honorary culinarian member of
23the culinary profession and hospitality industry, and she has
24been employed in the food service industry through her alma

 

 

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1mater, Neuqua Valley High School, for over 23 years; she has
2volunteered for a variety of organizations, including at her
3church, the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville, and the
4Cancer Center; in her time off, she assists in a preschool
5class and enjoys researching various topics; she provides
6expertise in food preparation and safety; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Rachel Costabile, Ashley McLeod, Ruth Pligge,
8Bridget Brown, and Erika Kissel successfully operate Just A
9Dollop through supporting and helping one another, and their
10efforts have led to the creation of a cookbook that features
11such recipes as pumpkin spice greek yogurt dip, no sodium taco
12seasoning, crack chicken, low-carb tortilla chips, greek
13yogurt dressing, sweet potato leek soup, and others; they have
14also expanded into producing how-to cooking videos, which they
15present on their business website and YouTube channel;
16therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
18HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19we congratulate Rachel Costabile, Ashley McLeod, Ruth Pligge,
20Bridget Brown, and Erika Kissel on the successful creation and
21operation of their small business, Just A Dollop, and we wish
22them continued success on their entrepreneurial journey; and
23be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That we encourage the entrepreneurship of people
2with developmental disabilities.