Full Text of HR0134 96th General Assembly
HR0134 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate and thank our | 4 |
| longtime friend and colleague, Illinois State Senator Frank | 5 |
| Watson, on his retirement from the Illinois Senate; and
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| WHEREAS, Frank Watson’s political career began when he was | 7 |
| elected to the office of Bond County Central Township | 8 |
| supervisor and trustee; in 1979 he was elected to serve in the | 9 |
| Illinois House of Representatives and served until 1983, when | 10 |
| he was elected the 55th District Senator; he served the 55th | 11 |
| district from 1983 through 2003 when legislative redistricting | 12 |
| gave him a new district territory, the 51st District, and he | 13 |
| was elected to served that district; he served as the Assistant | 14 |
| Majority Leader from 1993 to 2002 and Senate Republican leader | 15 |
| from 2003 until late in 2008; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, As a State legislator, Frank Watson championed | 17 |
| economic development issues that helped bring new businesses to | 18 |
| Illinois and to help other businesses expand; he was the | 19 |
| sponsor of the EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing | 20 |
| Economy) program; EDGE provides tax credits that allow a | 21 |
| company to reduce the costs of doing business in Illinois, | 22 |
| which levels the field between Illinois and surrounding states | 23 |
| that were offering various tax breaks that put Illinois at a |
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| disadvantage; and
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| WHEREAS, Another major accomplishment that could have a | 3 |
| long-lasting impact on Illinois is his work to promote Illinois | 4 |
| coal; he sponsored legislation to help coal companies keep | 5 |
| operating, and for industry incentives to encourage more energy | 6 |
| generating capacity, using the rich coal reserves in southern | 7 |
| Illinois; he recently co-sponsored legislation for the $2.5 | 8 |
| billion coal-to-energy Tenaska facility near Taylorville, and | 9 |
| fought behind the scenes to help clear hurdles so the bill | 10 |
| could be signed into law; the plant is expected to create about | 11 |
| 1,500 temporary construction jobs and 200 permanent plant jobs, | 12 |
| and provide opportunities for hundreds of coal mining jobs | 13 |
| around the State; and
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| WHEREAS, He has sponsored school reform measures to improve | 15 |
| the quality of public education in the State; he has led the | 16 |
| way for more funding for public education; and he has sponsored | 17 |
| college tuition programs; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, Senator Watson is a graduate of Purdue University, | 19 |
| majoring in Pharmacology; he is a registered pharmacist and was | 20 |
| the owner of Watson's Drug Store in Greenville until recently; | 21 |
| Senator Watson was at the forefront on the issue of affordable | 22 |
| prescription drugs; another priority was a quality | 23 |
| transportation system critical for future development and job |
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| creation; he used his position on the Senate Transportation | 2 |
| Committee to fight for those projects, and was especially a | 3 |
| strong advocate for the U.S. Route 51 expansion and | 4 |
| improvements; and
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| WHEREAS, Senator Watson teamed with local officials to lead | 6 |
| the fight to thwart the attempted closure of the Vandalia | 7 |
| Correctional Center; he helped organize the opposition, | 8 |
| lobbied fellow senators and took on the governor to keep the | 9 |
| prison operating; and
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| WHEREAS, Senator Watson is a member of the Greenville | 11 |
| Jaycees; he is a member of the Greenville, O'Fallon, Salem, | 12 |
| Decatur, Mt. Zion, Sullivan, and Centralia Chambers of | 13 |
| Commerce; and he is a member of the Illinois Retail Merchants | 14 |
| Association; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS,
Frank Watson and his wife, Susan, reside in | 16 |
| Greenville; they have two adult children and one grandchild; | 17 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 20 |
| congratulate Senator Frank Watson on his retirement and wish | 21 |
| him nothing but the best in all his future endeavors; and be it | 22 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 |
| presented to former Illinois Senator Frank Watson as a symbol | 3 |
| of our sincere respect and admiration.
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