Full Text of SR0251 97th General Assembly
SR0251 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Gary Dahl represented the constituents of | 3 | | Illinois' 38th Senate District with distinction for six years; | 4 | | and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, During that time he served as the Republican | 6 | | Spokesman on the Local Government and Agriculture Committees, | 7 | | as well as serving as a member of the Consumer Protection, | 8 | | Human Services, State Government and Veterans Affairs, and | 9 | | Transportation Committees; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, He served his country in the United States Army at | 11 | | the height of the Cold War from 1958 to 1962, including | 12 | | numerous assignments across the United States as well as two | 13 | | years in Germany; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, He worked as a truck driver for 20 years, driving | 15 | | large rigs hundreds of thousands of miles during that time; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, After the company he worked for shut down, Gary | 17 | | Dahl started his own trucking business in 1985, Double D | 18 | | Express, which he grew from the ground up into one of Illinois' | 19 | | leading trucking companies; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, In 1992 he started Double D Warehouse, LLC, which |
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| 1 | | today has one million square feet of warehousing space on 50 | 2 | | acres; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Gary Dahl is known for being a loyal and generous | 4 | | employer to his more than 200 employees; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, He continued that generosity by turning Double D | 6 | | Express into an employee-owned company, giving those employees | 7 | | a greater say in how their business is run and a greater stake | 8 | | in its future;
and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Gary Dahl has a long history of civic | 10 | | responsibility, and is warmly regarded in the Illinois Valley | 11 | | and beyond for his generosity and good citizenship; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, He has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to | 13 | | charity and countless hours of his time to worthy causes; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, He has been active in numerous community | 15 | | organizations over the years, including Meals on Wheels, the | 16 | | Habitat for Humanity Foundation Board, the Peru Rotary, Horizon | 17 | | House, the Junior Achievement Board, and numerous church | 18 | | boards; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Gary and his wife Debbie Dahl demonstrated their | 20 | | love for animals by donating a building and three acres in |
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| 1 | | LaSalle for the Illinois Valley Animal Rescue's permanent home; | 2 | | and | 3 | | WHEREAS He served as a board member on the Illinois Valley | 4 | | Red Cross for six years, helping that organization's local, | 5 | | national, and international relief efforts; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, He served as the two-time president of the | 7 | | Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce, a position he used to | 8 | | promote the local economy and bring businesses to North Central | 9 | | Illinois; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, During times of local and national disasters, Gary | 11 | | Dahl allowed his business's trucks to be used to help the | 12 | | victims; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Following the devastating tornado that hit Utica | 14 | | and Granville he provided several of his business's trucks to | 15 | | be used to store victims' belongings; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Following Hurricane Katrina, he donated several | 17 | | of Double D Express's trucks and warehouse space to collect | 18 | | items sent to the disaster zone; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, As a small-business owner, Gary Dahl was active | 20 | | with several groups connected to his work, including the |
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| 1 | | National Federation of Independent Business, the MidWest | 2 | | Truckers Association, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the | 3 | | Illinois Trucking Association, the American Trucking | 4 | | Association, and the Distribution and LTL Carriers | 5 | | Association; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, After years of disappointment and frustration | 7 | | with the direction of state government, Gary Dahl decided to | 8 | | run for the office of State Senator; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, He campaigned on the platform that government | 10 | | should be about "the next generation, not the next election"; | 11 | | and | 12 | | WHEREAS, That message resounded with the voters of the 38th | 13 | | District, who elected him their new State Senator in 2004 in a | 14 | | come-from-behind upset victory, his first try at elective | 15 | | office; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, As Senator he always told it like it is, often | 17 | | taking on the powerful interests and government bureaucracy on | 18 | | behalf of his constituents; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Senator Dahl stood up for his principles during | 20 | | his time in the Illinois Senate, including fiscal | 21 | | responsibility, low taxation, and a limited government |
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| 1 | | accountable to the people, rather than vice-versa; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, With the help of his district aides Jen Riva, | 3 | | Agatha Brennan, and O.J. Stoutner, Senator Dahl established a | 4 | | top-tier constituent outreach operation that helped make | 5 | | government work for the taxpayer; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, He fulfilled his campaign promise to donate his | 7 | | Senate paycheck to charity, eventually donating more than | 8 | | $400,000 to local charities through the Gary Dahl Charity Fund; | 9 | | and | 10 | | WHEREAS, His dedication as a public servant and no-nonsense | 11 | | approach to government led voters to reelect him with more than | 12 | | 60 percent of the vote in 2008; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, He was the three-time winner of the Kankakee | 14 | | County Fair's celebrity goat-milking contest, a feat yet to be | 15 | | matched; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, He sponsored and passed legislation that raised | 17 | | public awareness of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome | 18 | | (RSDS) a debilitating, neurological syndrome that impacts more | 19 | | than 500,000 Americans; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, He has won numerous awards and recognitions for |
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| 1 | | his work in the Senate, including the Red Cross's Prairie State | 2 | | Good Neighbor Award, the Illinois Chamber's Guardian of Small | 3 | | Business, and the Illinois Farm Bureau Activator Award for | 4 | | being a Friend of Agriculture; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Gary Dahl was recognized in 2008 by Easter Seals, | 6 | | which honored him with the Outstanding Advocate Award for an | 7 | | Elected State Official for his many good works, both in and out | 8 | | of office; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, As Senator he never forgot his military service | 10 | | and those who have served, fighting for and securing the | 11 | | funding necessary to staff the LaSalle Veterans' Home's 80-bed | 12 | | expansion; and participating as a guardian for two World War II | 13 | | veterans in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, He retired from the Senate in the best way | 15 | | possible, of his own choice, in 2010 in order to spend more | 16 | | time with his family and enjoy the warm Arizona winter that has | 17 | | proved elusive to the Land of Lincoln; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, He has been a dedicated husband to his wife | 19 | | Debbie, who has truly been his partner in all areas of life, | 20 | | including family, business, community, and politics; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, He has been a devoted parent to his children, |
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| 1 | | step-children, and grandchildren; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, He received the Gary W. Davis Ethical Leadership | 3 | | Award in 2011 for his commitment to philanthropy and commitment | 4 | | to the Illinois Valley Community College as Senator;
and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Gary Dahl was inducted into the Illinois Valley | 6 | | Community College Hall of Fame, class of 2011; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 8 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Gary Dahl for | 9 | | his years of dedicated service to the people of Illinois as a | 10 | | veteran, as a businessman, as a philanthropist, and as a | 11 | | lawmaker, and honor him with this resolution; and be it further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to Gary Dahl with our best wishes for his future.
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