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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to recognize State Representative
4Elizabeth Coulson for her outstanding service and hard work on
5behalf of the people of the State of Illinois; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Representative Coulson was first elected in 1997
7to serve the people of the 57th District; after the 2001 remap
8of the State, Representative Coulson was asked by the people of
9the new 17th district to represent them in the General
10Assembly; and
 
11    WHEREAS, She has received numerous awards during her years
12of service, including being named the Healthcare Council of
13Illinois' Legislator of the Year, the Action For Children,
14Ounce of Prevention and Voices for Illinois Children's Early
15Learning Leader Award, the Legislative Advocacy Award from the
16Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, and the 100 Percent
17Voting Record Award from the Illinois Environmental Council;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, Perhaps her greatest achievement was to save 64
20babies to date by creating the Abandoned Newborn Infant
21Protection Act (often referred to as The Safe Haven Law, this
22Act has allowed mothers to leave infants up to 30 days old at

 

 

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1safe places such as police stations, fire departments, and
2hospitals without fear of criminal action); this successful and
3carefully written legislation has led other states to follow
4suit; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Representative Coulson has been a champion for
6Ethics and Government Reform by sponsoring legislation to
7strengthen the Gift Ban Act, prohibit the appearance of public
8officials in public service announcements 60 days prior to the
9election, educate government employees on ethics provisions,
10and stop the revolving door of government employees into
11private insurance; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Representative Coulson sponsored several
13important legislative proposals to reform State government,
14including a prohibition on gubernatorial appointees and State
15department heads from soliciting contributions for a sitting
16governor, and mandating individuals who lobby members of a
17State board or commission to be registered under the Lobbyist
18Registration Act; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Representative Coulson also took the lead in
20sponsoring a package of bills that would amend State laws to
21provide prosecutors and investigators with many of the same
22tools available to federal authorities in the investigation and
23prosecution of public corruption cases; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, She is a graduate of Wellesley College and the
2University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science degree in
3Education; she holds a Master's of Business Administration from
4Keller Graduate School of Management; she is also a licensed
5Physical Therapist with a degree from Northwestern University
6Medical School and was a Professor and Department Chair at
7Chicago Medical School from 1981-2002; she is married to
8William Coulson; therefore, be it
 
9    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
11congratulate Representative Elizabeth Coulson on her
12retirement from the Illinois House of Representatives and wish
13her the best in her future endeavors; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15presented to State Representative Elizabeth Coulson as a symbol
16of respect and esteem.