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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to recognize our former colleague, State
4Representative Kevin McCarthy, and thank him for his many years
5of service to the people of Illinois; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy won his first election
7for State representative of the southwest suburban 37th
8District in 1996 by less than 900 votes in a hard-fought
9campaign; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy received his bachelor's
11degree from Chicago State University and a master's degree from
12DePaul University; he began his career as a school teacher and
13later went into the school supply business; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy prided himself on being a
15full-time lawmaker who remained accessible to his constituents
16and fought for their needs and concerns to improve local
17communities and the southland; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy spent his time in public
19service fighting to improve local schools, make higher
20education more affordable, lower taxes for homeowners, and
21assist the growing senior citizen population; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy succeeded in increasing
2state funding for local schools and fought to pass an education
3tax credit for parents with children in private and parochial
4schools; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy led efforts to increase
6education standards, fought to invest in early childhood
7education, and advocated for lower class sizes so our children
8have the competitive advantage needed to succeed; and
 
9    WHEREAS, As the chairman of the House Higher Education
10Committee, Representative McCarthy consistently supported ways
11to make higher education more accessible and affordable for
12students, including greater funding for Monetary Award Program
13(MAP) grants to help students in financial need pay for
14college; he sponsored legislation creating the MAP Plus program
15to provide financial assistance to college students who do not
16qualify for other assistance programs; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy often took up challenging
18and unpopular issues because he believed them to be in the best
19interests of the State; he passed landmark pension reforms to
20help end abuses and to help begin efforts to create long-term
21stability of the pension system; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy kept a promise to be a
2strong advocate for taxpayers by fighting to increase homestead
3exemptions and other property tax assistance programs for all
4homeowners, especially senior citizens and veterans; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy owes much to the support
6of his loving family, including his wife, Judy, and their 2
7children, Amy and Kevin John, as well as his longtime friend
8and office manager, Sue McGahan; therefore, be it
 
9    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
11we congratulate and thank State Representative Kevin McCarthy
12for his years of dedicated service; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to Representative Kevin McCarthy as an expression of
15our respect and esteem and with our best wishes for his future
16success.