HR1284 LRB093 24130 CSA 54322 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Mario Pena is a dedicated public servant with over
3 15 years of distinguished service to the people of Lake County,
4 and he is also an elected official of Waukegan Township, where
5 he holds the position of Trustee; he retired in 2003 from
6 Abbott Laboratories in North Chicago after 29 years of service;
7 and
 
8     WHEREAS, He has done extensive volunteer work within the
9 Hispanic community by providing assistance to individuals
10 needing help completing Naturalization documents, completing
11 paperwork for lost or misplaced "Green Cards" (Permanent
12 Resident Card), and making referrals to the Department of
13 Immigration and Naturalization Services; and
 
14     WHEREAS, He knows first-hand the difficulties involved
15 with the citizenship application process; when he applied, he
16 became extremely frustrated with the amount of paperwork
17 involved and how long the actual process took; it was then when
18 he started talking to non-profit organizations about helping to
19 streamline the INS process; for the first five years, he
20 visited churches county-wide in an effort to assist people in
21 becoming U.S. citizens; as of today, he has contributed
22 approximately 7,600 hours of volunteer work and has helped over
23 3,800 people of various origins in communities across the
24 county become U.S. citizens; his hard work and dedication paid
25 off not only for the 3,800 people, it also allowed over 12,000
26 immediate relatives the opportunity to become legal U.S.
27 residents; and
 
28     WHEREAS, Mario Pena has listened, felt compassion and has
29 found it very rewarding to help people overcome their problems;
30 he has done approximately 500 hours of casework and has helped
31 about 1,000 people by his efforts or by referring them to
32 different agencies or organizations with issues other than

 

 

HR1284 - 2 - LRB093 24130 CSA 54322 r

1 immigration or naturalization; and
 
2     WHEREAS, He sets a standard for what can be done when just
3 one person sincerely wants to reach out and help others;
4 therefore, be it
 
5     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
7 commend Mario Pena for his compassion and willingness to help
8 others and we thank him for his tireless efforts on behalf of
9 those in the Hispanic community; and be it further
 
10     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11 presented to Mario Pena as an expression of our respect and
12 esteem.