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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate Cathy Ficker
4Terrill on the occasion of her retirement as President and CEO
5of the Ray Graham Association for People with Disabilities
6after 16 years of dedicated service; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Cathy Ficker Terrill earned her master's degree in
8disability policy; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Cathy Ficker Terrill is well known among her peers
10as a pioneer in the human services field; she was instrumental
11in guiding Ray Graham and the industry in replacing the
12"workshop" model of employment to a more person-centered
13approach; as a result of her work, Ray Graham has grown to
14become one of the largest agencies, providing service and
15support to nearly 2,000 individuals with disabilities at 35
16locations throughout DuPage County; during her tenure, Ray
17Graham also became the first organization in the world to
18receive a 4-year Accreditation with the Council on Quality and
19Leadership; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Cathy Ficker Terrill is a past President of the
21American Association on Mental Retardation and has been the
22President of the Illinois Association for Persons with Severe

 

 

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1Handicaps; she was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve
2on the President's Committee on Mental Retardation for 2 terms;
3she served as the Director of the Illinois Planning Council on
4Developmental Disabilities, where she founded one of the first
5projects on dual diagnosis; she helped to write and ensure
6passage of the Illinois Early Intervention Act, The Family
7Support Act, and the Transition Act, which helped expand access
8to Early Intervention, provided cash subsidies to children and
9adults with mental health needs and developmental
10disabilities, and mandated transition services for young
11adults; in January 2009, she was named to the Special Education
12Funding Task Force by Illinois Senate Republican Leader
13Christine Radogno; in 2010, she was appointed to serve on the
14Governor's Task Force on Employment and Economic Opportunity
15for Persons with Disabilities by Governor Pat Quinn; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Cathy Ficker Terrill has served as a volunteer for
17numerous charitable and civic organizations, including the
18Elmhurst Hospital Board of Directors, the Council on Quality
19and Leadership Board of Directors, the Elmhurst College ELSA
20Advisory Board, the Life's Plan Special Needs Trust Board of
21Directors, the Mental Disability Rights International Board of
22Directors, the League of Women's Voters, the RTA Community
23Advisory Committee, the University of Illinois Center for
24Excellence on Disabilities, the President Elmhurst Morning
25Rotary, the Institute on Public Policy for People with

 

 

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1Disabilities, the DuPage Family Disability Network, and the
2Board of Directors of the Human Services Research Institute;
3she was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the
4Downers Grove Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the
5Illinois Department of Developmental Disabilities' Quality
6Committee, the University of Illinois Department of
7Disabilities' Quality Committee, and the University of
8Illinois Center on Excellence for Disability's Advisory
9Committee; she is also the past Director of the Illinois
10Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Internationally, Cathy Ficker Terrill has
12volunteered her time to help families of children with
13disabilities in the Baltic States and Eastern Europe with the
14International Christian Children's Bureau; she has helped set
15up early intervention family support and parent support groups
16in Poland with UNICEF and has worked to unite children in
17Russian orphanages with families; she has facilitated
18strategic planning in Saudi Arabia and Lithuania and has
19recently volunteered her time to expand self-advocacy in China,
20Japan, and Cyprus; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Following her retirement, Cathy Ficker Terrill
22plans to pursue a reduced workload, while continuing her
23allegiance and ongoing relationship with Ray Graham;
24therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
3congratulate Cathy Ficker Terrill on the occasion of her
4retirement and wish her many happy and healthy retirement
5years; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7presented to Cathy Ficker Terrill as a symbol of our esteem and
8respect.