Full Text of HR0176 100th General Assembly
HR0176 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate Thomas J. Weisner on the | 4 | | occasion of his retirement as Mayor of the City of Aurora on | 5 | | October 31, 2016; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner served in various positions in | 7 | | administration for the City of Aurora for 20 years before | 8 | | becoming one of just three mayors elected to three terms; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner focused on downtown riverfront | 10 | | renewal, enhanced public safety, and the development of a | 11 | | top-notch telecommunications infrastructure; in 2014, Aurora | 12 | | was recognized as one of the top 10 safest mid-size cities in | 13 | | the nation, and in the summer of 2016, it was recognized by | 14 | | WalletHub as one of the top 20 best-run cities; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner worked to attract new jobs and bring | 16 | | in economic development to Aurora; in August of 2016, the | 17 | | unemployment rate in Aurora stood at 5.3%, well below the State | 18 | | average; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner oversaw major projects during his | 20 | | years of service, including the new Aurora Police Station, | 21 | | which opened in 2010; the new Waubonsee College downtown campus |
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| 1 | | complex, which opened in 2011; the RiverEdge Park, which opened | 2 | | in 2013; and the new downtown Aurora Public Library, which | 3 | | opened in 2015; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner was aggressive in modernizing | 5 | | Aurora's aging road and bridges; in 12 years, 12 major bridges | 6 | | were reconstructed; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner prioritized fixing Aurora's aging | 8 | | underground infrastructure, completing millions of dollars in | 9 | | water and sewer improvements, using green methods whenever | 10 | | possible; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner has been a leader on the regional, | 12 | | State, and national level; he served as the Chairman of the | 13 | | Chicago Metropolitan Mayors
Caucus; in
recognition of his | 14 | | leadership on regional issues, The DuPage Mayors and Managers | 15 | | Conference, selected him as the Governmental Leader of the Year
| 16 | | in 2014; he is the founding Chairman of the Northwest Water | 17 | | Planning Alliance,
one of only two regional water planning | 18 | | organizations in Illinois; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Prior to his time in office, Mayor Weisner served | 20 | | Aurora for 17 years in a variety of capacities; he is a former | 21 | | board member of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority, where he | 22 | | served as Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning and Customer |
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| 1 | | Service Committee; he served as the Kane/Kendall counties | 2 | | representative to the Chicago Metropolitan
Agency for | 3 | | Planning; he was an Executive Board member of the Illinois
| 4 | | Municipal League, a member of the Pension Fairness for Illinois | 5 | | Communities
Coalition, and past President of Metro West Council | 6 | | of Governments; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner served as an officer or board member | 8 | | with the Quad County Urban League,
Family Counseling Services, | 9 | | the Boy Scouts of America, Study Circles, and the United Way; | 10 | | he is the founding Chair of the Aurora East Educational | 11 | | Foundation, and a founding
member of Aurora Cares; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner has had the distinction of being the | 13 | | first Aurora mayor in a century to wear a beard throughout his | 14 | | tenure; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Prior to joining the City of Aurora staff in 1986, | 16 | | Mayor Weisner and his wife, Marilyn, served in
the Peace Corps, | 17 | | assisting Melanesian rainforest dwellers in the highlands of
| 18 | | Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner attended Marmion Academy and | 20 | | Marquette University; he holds a Bachelor of
Science in | 21 | | Organizational Management, Summa Cum Laude, from
Aurora | 22 | | University; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner was born and raised in Batavia; he | 2 | | and his wife moved to Aurora in 1973; he was employed by | 3 | | Western
Electric; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, In honor of their son, Thaddeus, who passed away | 5 | | at the age of 21, The Weisner Family Trust was established to | 6 | | support children and families
challenged by the effects of | 7 | | disease or disability; their foster son, Tony, joined their | 8 | | family at the age of 14; therefore, be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 10 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 11 | | wish to congratulate Thomas J. Weisner on his retirement as | 12 | | Mayor of the City of Aurora, and we wish him the best in all his | 13 | | future endeavors; and be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to Mayor Weisner as an expression of our esteem and | 16 | | respect.
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