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1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION |
2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of |
3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the Honorable Michael |
4 | | Christopher Fountain, Honorary Consul of the Consulate of the |
5 | | Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern |
6 | | United States, on the occasion of his decade of continued |
7 | | service; and |
8 | | WHEREAS, Consul Fountain, a Chicagoan from Chicago's West |
9 | | Side, possesses patrilineal descent to The Bahamas dating back |
10 | | to 1847 as a descendant of William Fountain; and |
11 | | WHEREAS, Consul Fountain was accredited by the U.S. |
12 | | Department of State as the first Honorary Consul of the |
13 | | Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern |
14 | | United States on March 6, 2014, becoming the second honorary |
15 | | consul of The Bahamas to ever be assigned and accredited by the |
16 | | United States; he opened the first Consulate of the |
17 | | Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago on September 5, 2014; |
18 | | and |
19 | | WHEREAS, Consul Fountain has conducted public diplomacy |
20 | | work to protect the interests of Bahamian nationals in the |
21 | | United States and to promote and engage interested parties in |
22 | | the specific matters of tourism, investment, trade, art, |
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1 | | economic development, culture, science, agriculture, public |
2 | | safety, and the import and export of goods and services within |
3 | | his jurisdiction of the Midwestern United States, which |
4 | | includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, |
5 | | Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; and |
6 | | WHEREAS, To further bilateral relationship opportunities |
7 | | between nations, Consul Fountain has engaged the |
8 | | administrations of the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Governors of the |
9 | | State of Illinois, the 69th and 70th Speakers of the Illinois |
10 | | House of Representatives, the 38th and 39th Presidents of the |
11 | | Illinois Senate, and the 55th, 56th, and 57th Mayors of |
12 | | Chicago, and he has hosted The Bahamas' Minister of Foreign |
13 | | Affairs, its Parliamentary Secretary, its Ambassador and Head |
14 | | of Mission to the United States, its Deputy Chief of Mission to |
15 | | the United States, three consul generals of The Bahamas, and |
16 | | general manager of the Broadcast Corporation of The Bahamas |
17 | | for engagements in Illinois; and |
18 | | WHEREAS, To deepen the diplomatic engagement between the |
19 | | State of Illinois and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Consul |
20 | | Fountain has overseen numerous activities, including raising |
21 | | the first flag of The Bahamas over Illinois soil in |
22 | | acknowledgment of the first sanctioned Sister City |
23 | | relationship between Cat Island, Bahamas and Richton Park, |
24 | | Illinois and in celebration of the 43rd anniversary of |
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1 | | Bahamian Independence on July 8, 2016, the first flag of The |
2 | | Bahamas at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in celebration |
3 | | of the 44th anniversary of Bahamian Independence on July 7, |
4 | | 2017, and the first flag within Chicago city limits in |
5 | | celebration of the 48th anniversary of Bahamian Independence |
6 | | on July 9, 2021; he also organized and sponsored the first |
7 | | State visit of a sitting Prime Minister of The Bahamas to |
8 | | Chicago from September 10 to September 11, 2023, during which |
9 | | he facilitated the opportunity for Prime Minister Philip |
10 | | Edward Davis to speak at the City Club of Chicago; and |
11 | | WHEREAS, As a diplomatic representative of The Bahamas, |
12 | | Consul Fountain has also provided numerous support services to |
13 | | countless Bahamians in need of assistance, and he has |
14 | | previously led multistate awareness and relief efforts for |
15 | | Bahamians affected by Hurricanes Joaquin, Irma, Matthew, and |
16 | | Dorian; and |
17 | | WHEREAS, Consul Fountain has served with distinction as a |
18 | | member of the Board of Chancellors for the Consular Corps |
19 | | College, an association of foreign consuls in the United |
20 | | States based in Washington, D.C., and he is a member of the |
21 | | Chicago Consular Corps; and |
22 | | WHEREAS, As the longest-serving diplomatic representative |
23 | | of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in the United States of |
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1 | | America, Consul Fountain now celebrates a decade of diplomacy, |
2 | | representing Bahamians in the Diaspora, within his |
3 | | jurisdiction of the Midwestern United States and the larger |
4 | | United States of America; therefore, be it |
5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
6 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
7 | | we congratulate the Honorable Michael Christopher Fountain, |
8 | | Honorary Consul of the Consulate of the Commonwealth of The |
9 | | Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern United States, on |
10 | | serving as a crucial link to the bilateral relationship |
11 | | between The Bahamas and the United States for over a decade, |
12 | | and we wish him continued success while conducting his |
13 | | consular duties; and be it further |
14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
15 | | presented to Consul Fountain as an expression of our esteem |
16 | | and respect. |