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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Honorable Michael
4Christopher Fountain, Honorary Consul of the Consulate of the
5Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern
6United States, on the occasion of his decade of continued
7service; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Consul Fountain, a Chicagoan from Chicago's West
9Side, possesses patrilineal descent to The Bahamas dating back
10to 1847 as a descendant of William Fountain; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Consul Fountain was accredited by the U.S.
12Department of State as the first Honorary Consul of the
13Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern
14United States on March 6, 2014, becoming the second honorary
15consul of The Bahamas to ever be assigned and accredited by the
16United States; he opened the first Consulate of the
17Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago on September 5, 2014;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, Consul Fountain has conducted public diplomacy
20work to protect the interests of Bahamian nationals in the
21United States and to promote and engage interested parties in
22the specific matters of tourism, investment, trade, art,

 

 

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1economic development, culture, science, agriculture, public
2safety, and the import and export of goods and services within
3his jurisdiction of the Midwestern United States, which
4includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri,
5Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; and
 
6    WHEREAS, To further bilateral relationship opportunities
7between nations, Consul Fountain has engaged the
8administrations of the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Governors of the
9State of Illinois, the 69th and 70th Speakers of the Illinois
10House of Representatives, the 38th and 39th Presidents of the
11Illinois Senate, and the 55th, 56th, and 57th Mayors of
12Chicago, and he has hosted The Bahamas' Minister of Foreign
13Affairs, its Parliamentary Secretary, its Ambassador and Head
14of Mission to the United States, its Deputy Chief of Mission to
15the United States, three consul generals of The Bahamas, and
16general manager of the Broadcast Corporation of The Bahamas
17for engagements in Illinois; and
 
18    WHEREAS, To deepen the diplomatic engagement between the
19State of Illinois and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Consul
20Fountain has overseen numerous activities, including raising
21the first flag of The Bahamas over Illinois soil in
22acknowledgment of the first sanctioned Sister City
23relationship between Cat Island, Bahamas and Richton Park,
24Illinois and in celebration of the 43rd anniversary of

 

 

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1Bahamian Independence on July 8, 2016, the first flag of The
2Bahamas at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in celebration
3of the 44th anniversary of Bahamian Independence on July 7,
42017, and the first flag within Chicago city limits in
5celebration of the 48th anniversary of Bahamian Independence
6on July 9, 2021; he also organized and sponsored the first
7State visit of a sitting Prime Minister of The Bahamas to
8Chicago from September 10 to September 11, 2023, during which
9he facilitated the opportunity for Prime Minister Philip
10Edward Davis to speak at the City Club of Chicago; and
 
11    WHEREAS, As a diplomatic representative of The Bahamas,
12Consul Fountain has also provided numerous support services to
13countless Bahamians in need of assistance, and he has
14previously led multistate awareness and relief efforts for
15Bahamians affected by Hurricanes Joaquin, Irma, Matthew, and
16Dorian; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Consul Fountain has served with distinction as a
18member of the Board of Chancellors for the Consular Corps
19College, an association of foreign consuls in the United
20States based in Washington, D.C., and he is a member of the
21Chicago Consular Corps; and
 
22    WHEREAS, As the longest-serving diplomatic representative
23of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in the United States of

 

 

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1America, Consul Fountain now celebrates a decade of diplomacy,
2representing Bahamians in the Diaspora, within his
3jurisdiction of the Midwestern United States and the larger
4United States of America; therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
6HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we congratulate the Honorable Michael Christopher Fountain,
8Honorary Consul of the Consulate of the Commonwealth of The
9Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern United States, on
10serving as a crucial link to the bilateral relationship
11between The Bahamas and the United States for over a decade,
12and we wish him continued success while conducting his
13consular duties; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15presented to Consul Fountain as an expression of our esteem
16and respect.