Full Text of SR0832 103rd General Assembly
SR0832 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SR0832 | | LRB103 39845 MST 70562 r |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to | 3 | | congratulate Joel Jay Africk on his retirement from full-time | 4 | | employment as CEO of the Respiratory Health Association and | 5 | | commend him for his unwavering commitment to improving the | 6 | | health of residents of Illinois; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk is a native of Chicago; he graduated | 8 | | from Niles North High School, the University of Illinois | 9 | | (Urbana), and Harvard Law School; afterward, he clerked for | 10 | | the Honorable Judge Bernard M. Decker and became a partner in | 11 | | the Chicago law firm of Jenner & Block, LLP, where he | 12 | | represented clients in a broad range of business litigation | 13 | | matters from 1984 to 2001; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk became the CEO of the Respiratory | 15 | | Health Association in 2002, focusing on creating a safer and | 16 | | healthier environment for Illinois families; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk helped pass the Chicago Smoke-Free | 18 | | Ordinance in 2005, amending the Clean Air Act to make all | 19 | | places of employment 100% smoke-free in the City of Chicago; | 20 | | and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk's leadership helped pass the 2007 |
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| 1 | | Smoke-free Illinois Act, making all restaurants, bars, and | 2 | | other workplaces in Illinois 100% smoke-free; the law is | 3 | | considered the strongest smoke-free law in the country, as it | 4 | | includes casinos and private clubs in its list of required | 5 | | smoke-free venues; this policy was supported by more than 450 | 6 | | organizations and tens of thousands of advocates; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk helped pass the State's first No | 8 | | Idling Diesel Law, which limited diesel truck idling in the | 9 | | metropolitan Chicago and metro East St. Louis areas to 10 | 10 | | minutes; following this legislation, the Respiratory Health | 11 | | Association along with Citizen Action/Illinois formally | 12 | | launched the Illinois Campaign to Clean Up Diesel Pollution, | 13 | | with the aim to significantly clean up diesel pollution in the | 14 | | State; to date, over 80 public health, community, labor, and | 15 | | environmental organizations have endorsed the campaign; in | 16 | | 2008, he helped secure $19.5 million in federal Congestion | 17 | | Mitigation and Air Improvement funding to clean up diesel | 18 | | engines in the Chicago metropolitan area, the largest amount | 19 | | of money the committee has dedicated for diesel cleanup in | 20 | | Chicago; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk launched the first annual Living | 22 | | Better Together COPD Conference in 2005, the largest patient | 23 | | gathering in the U.S., and led a coalition in the development | 24 | | of the nation's first statewide COPD plan to reduce |
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| 1 | | COPD-related morbidity and mortality, which improved the | 2 | | quality of life for people in Illinois living with COPD; he | 3 | | created the COPD Caregiver's Toolkit in 2017, which was | 4 | | digitalized and became available nationwide on the National | 5 | | Institute of Health website in 2023; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk's effort to ensure smoke-free places | 7 | | for Illinois residents enabled the Chicago Parks districts to | 8 | | adopt a smoke-free park policy, covering 580 parks, 90 | 9 | | gardens, 90 museum campuses, 9 lakefront harbors, 9 skating | 10 | | rinks, and more than 24 miles of lakefront property, becoming | 11 | | the largest smoke-free park district in the country; the | 12 | | Respiratory Health Association's efforts, with the help of | 13 | | many advocates and institutions, reduced the adult smoking | 14 | | rate in Illinois from 20.9% in 2011 to 12.1% in 2021 and the | 15 | | statewide youth smoking rate from 12.5% in 2009 to 1.1% in | 16 | | 2021; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk was passionate about raising | 18 | | awareness and support for community events that supported the | 19 | | mission to create smoke-free environments in Illinois; he | 20 | | championed initiatives through creative community events, | 21 | | propelling The Witt Hotel and The Hustle, which has raised | 22 | | just under $21 million over its lifetime, the Jewelry | 23 | | Television, and Catch Your Breath fundraisers and three | 24 | | Chicago Auto Show black-tie galas to support the Respiratory |
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| 1 | | Health Association and community efforts in promoting | 2 | | Smoke-Free Illinois and patient support programs; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk and the Respiratory Health | 4 | | Association worked with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn in 2009 to | 5 | | release a Green Construction Executive Order, which requires | 6 | | all state-funded road construction projects, in non-attainment | 7 | | areas, to use clean construction practices; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk and the Respiratory Health | 9 | | Association worked to pass the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act in | 10 | | 2021, which sets Illinois on the path to 100% clean energy by | 11 | | 2050 and commits millions of dollars to quickly expand | 12 | | transportation electrification in Illinois; this law has been | 13 | | instrumental in closing or preventing 23 coal power plant | 14 | | operations; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk was born to Diane (Lazow) and Richard | 16 | | Africk, along with younger siblings, Michael Africk and Juli | 17 | | Noll; he married Julie Magyar on December 17, 1989, and they | 18 | | have three children, Jared (Kate), Megan, and Sarah Africk; | 19 | | and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk looks forward to spending more time | 21 | | with his family, traveling, and cycling in retirement; | 22 | | therefore, be it |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Joel | 3 | | Africk on his retirement from full-time employment as the CEO | 4 | | of Respiratory Health, and we commend him on his many years of | 5 | | service on behalf the residents in the State of Illinois and | 6 | | beyond; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to Joel Africk as a symbol of our esteem and respect. |
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