HR0948 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0948 LRB101 23225 LAW 74370 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to honor our esteemed colleague, State Senator Pat McGuire, on his eight years as a member of the Illinois General Assembly and to thank him for his dedicated service to our State and his community; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire attended Catholic schools in his hometown of Joliet; he is the husband of Lora and the father of Molly; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire taught job health and safety to local union members; he also taught English to high school and community college students; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire served his community in elective office as a school board member and a county treasurer before becoming a state senator; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire has represented Illinois Senate District 43 since 2012, serving the people of DuPage and Will Counties for eight years; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire has experience in both private and public schooling; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire was a strong advocate for women and children, acting to toughen penalties on domestic abusers and fund Court Appointed Special Advocate organizations in order to ensure that abused and neglected children are getting the court support that they need and deserve; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire served as the chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, where he spoke against cuts to the university system during impasse; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire worked to preserve and redevelop Joliet's government facilities, including the Stateville Correctional Center and Collins Street Task Force to preserve the Collins Street prison facility; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire co-sponsored a measure to raise the minimum wage in Illinois to $15 per hour; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire spoke against harmful cuts to programs like child care assistance and fought to preserve payroll for state workers during the two-year budget crisis that occurred early in his career in the Senate; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire worked to form and lead the bipartisan, bicameral Higher Education Working Group; he created the AIM HIGH state scholarship; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire created the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire dedicated himself to improving the State's Department of Children and Family Services; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire will be remembered as a supporter of workers' rights and an advocate for collective bargaining; he supported worker safety, pushing for worker access to and knowledge of the regulations and protections granted by OSHA and other state workplace safety organizations; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire was a frequent passenger on Amtrak's Lincoln Service; he was also an advocate for the improvement and further development of mass transit in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of providing employees with the means to report improper conditions and providing employers with clear guidance on how to reorganize their workplaces to maximize worker safety; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire was an Edgar Fellows Program student of the Class of 2017; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire has been honored by a number of organizations, including the Romeoville Fraternal Order of Police, the Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education, the Transportation for Illinois Coalition, the Illinois Optometric Association, Leading Age Illinois, Joliet Central, the senior living communities Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook and Woodridge Horizon, the Southwest Coalition on Substance Abuse Issues, and Volunteers of America of Illinois, among others; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate and honor State Senator Pat McGuire for his dedicated service as a member of the Illinois Senate, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Senator McGuire as an expression of our esteem and respect.