Full Text of HR0336 101st General Assembly
HR0336 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate Chicago Alderman Margaret | 4 | | Laurino on her 25 years of dedicated and outstanding service to | 5 | | the people of the 39th Ward and the City of Chicago; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, As a lifelong resident of the 39th Ward, Margaret | 7 | | Laurino graduated from St. Edward Elementary School and | 8 | | Alvernia High School in Chicago; she earned a bachelor's degree | 9 | | in education and a master's degree in history from Northeastern | 10 | | Illinois University; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The seeds of Margaret Laurino's passion for public | 12 | | service were sown at a young age as she witnessed her father, | 13 | | former Alderman Anthony Laurino, actively and tirelessly serve | 14 | | the citizens of the 39th Ward for over three decades; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, An ardent supporter of addressing constituents' | 16 | | needs, Margaret Laurino started her career serving in the 39th | 17 | | Ward office and eventually became chief of staff; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Following the retirement of her father, former | 19 | | Mayor Richard M. Daley recognized Margaret Laurino's | 20 | | accomplishments and leadership capability and appointed her | 21 | | interim 39th Ward Alderman; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In 1995, Margaret Laurino offered to voters her | 2 | | own compelling vision for a thriving 39th Ward; that vision, | 3 | | coupled with her growing reputation as someone who was | 4 | | forward-thinking and driven to achieve positive results, won | 5 | | her the election and five elections thereafter; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Throughout her illustrious career, Margaret | 7 | | Laurino focused on addressing the needs integral to the quality | 8 | | of life, including good schools, educational opportunities for | 9 | | all, health and public safety, services for senior citizens, | 10 | | economic growth, capital and infrastructure improvements, | 11 | | constituent access to city services, and government | 12 | | transparency; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Margaret Laurino's many citywide initiatives | 14 | | included expanding high speed wireless Internet access to all | 15 | | city residents, banning texting while biking, mandating online | 16 | | ethics and sexual harassment training for city employees, video | 17 | | streaming Chicago City Council meetings, requiring detailed | 18 | | information about each of the city's tax increment finance | 19 | | districts to be posted on the city's website, advancing plans | 20 | | to make the city more accessible to and safer for pedestrians, | 21 | | convening a Food Desert Task Force to ensure that communities | 22 | | of color have access to healthy and nutritious foods, and | 23 | | creating the Aldermanic intern program, which provides college |
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| 1 | | students with a unique work experience and the opportunity to | 2 | | learn city government operations; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, As a result of Margaret Laurino's leadership, | 4 | | numerous infrastructure and public safety improvements were | 5 | | accomplished; over 300 residential blocks, 100 alleys, and | 6 | | several major arterial streets were repaved or resurfaced; over | 7 | | $6 million in infrastructure improvements were made in Albany | 8 | | Park alone; $12 million was secured from the city's Rainblocker | 9 | | pilot program; a $70 million underground tunnel was constructed | 10 | | to relieve flooding in Albany Park, as well as a new $15 | 11 | | million state-of-the-art 17th District police station; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Deeply committed to improving Chicago's Public | 13 | | Schools and providing educational resources to learners of all | 14 | | ages, Margaret Laurino championed increased public school | 15 | | funding, fought tirelessly for infrastructure improvements at | 16 | | area schools, including construction of the buildings for the | 17 | | Haugan Middle School and the Albany Park Multicultural Academy | 18 | | and new annexes at the Volta, Haugan, Sauganash, Hibbard, and | 19 | | Palmer Elementary Schools, and secured the funding for a new | 20 | | $15 million Albany Park library, which opened in 2014; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, As co-founder of the Peterson-Pulaski Business | 22 | | and Industrial Council, Sauganash Chamber of Commerce, and | 23 | | Pulaski Elston Business Association, Margaret Laurino retained |
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| 1 | | jobs and attracted new employers to the 39th Ward; she | 2 | | regularly used the Small Business Improvement Fund to assist | 3 | | neighborhood businesses in becoming more prosperous; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Margaret Laurino partnered with the Heartland | 5 | | Alliance, Swedish Covenant Hospital, and Chicago Public | 6 | | Schools to open health centers at the Albany Park Multicultural | 7 | | Academy and at Roosevelt High School; she secured funding for | 8 | | the construction of a 97-unit apartment building for senior | 9 | | citizens in the Mayfair neighborhood and obtained funding for | 10 | | senior citizen home improvement grants; thanks to her efforts, | 11 | | North Park Village is now home to over 500 seniors; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, In July 2013, having earned her reputation as an | 13 | | experienced, thoughtful, productive, and fair-minded leader, | 14 | | Margaret Laurino was chosen by her colleagues to serve as | 15 | | president pro tempore of the Chicago City Council; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Margaret Laurino has served with distinction on | 17 | | many Chicago City Council committees, including most recently | 18 | | as a member of the Committee on the Budget and Government | 19 | | Operations, Committee on Finance, and Committee on Workforce | 20 | | Development and Audit; she also has overseen the City Council | 21 | | Legislative Reference Bureau; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Margaret Laurino has consistently embodied and |
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| 1 | | modeled the highest standards of public service for her staff, | 2 | | colleagues, and constituents: authentic caring, hard work, an | 3 | | ability to forge partnerships for the greater good, a positive | 4 | | focus on the future, and, the capability for taking strategic | 5 | | actions that make a sustainable difference in achieving a | 6 | | better life for all of Chicago's citizens; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Over the years, Margaret Laurino earned the | 8 | | respect of her city council colleagues and city staff for her | 9 | | intelligence, her graciousness, and her good humor; in addition | 10 | | to her official duties, she and her team achieved near | 11 | | legendary status as the official party planners of the annual | 12 | | aldermanic holiday party, authoring such memorable scripts | 13 | | such as The Wizard, Bye, Bye Daley, It's a Wonderful Life, and | 14 | | Council Joys; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Being alderman of the 39th Ward was Margaret | 16 | | Laurino's dream job, and, without a shadow of a doubt, she | 17 | | clearly gave it her all; therefore, be it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 19 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 20 | | we commend Alderman Margaret Laurino on her many years of | 21 | | exceptional service to the people of Chicago and offer our best | 22 | | wishes for an enjoyable retirement and continued success in all | 23 | | of her future endeavors; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to Margaret Laurino as a symbol of our respect and | 3 | | esteem.
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