Full Text of SR1158 096th General Assembly
SR1158 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, State Senator Deanna Demuzio has represented the | 3 | | citizens of the State of Illinois and the families of the 49th | 4 | | Legislative District since 2004; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Senator Deanna Demuzio joined the Illinois Senate | 6 | | in May of 2004 as the unanimous choice to fill the vacancy | 7 | | created when her husband, Senate Majority Leader and Dean of | 8 | | the Senate Vince Demuzio, passed away after serving the Central | 9 | | Illinois region for more than 30 years; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio, who had been working for families | 11 | | and residents of the 49th Legislative District for many years, | 12 | | was elected to the Illinois Senate by the voters of the 49th | 13 | | Legislative District in 2004 and re-elected to a 4-year term in | 14 | | November of 2006; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio, who learned her strong values | 16 | | growing up on a family farm in Gillespie, and through her past | 17 | | work for the Auditor of Public Accounts, numerous legislators, | 18 | | other elected officials, and Lewis and Clark Community College - | 19 | | Macoupin County Center, has brought a wealth of diverse work | 20 | | experience to the Illinois Senate; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio began her work in the Illinois |
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| 1 | | Senate as a legislative assistant for former State Senators | 2 | | William Lyons, Charlie Chew, and Ed Nihill; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, As a former small business owner, Senator Demuzio | 4 | | has been a volunteer for several organizations, including the | 5 | | Carlinville Business and Professional Women, the Carlinville | 6 | | Chamber of Commerce, and the Carlinville Hospital Auxiliary; | 7 | | she served as president of each of the 3 groups at various | 8 | | times; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio understands the importance of a | 10 | | strong local economy and has been a strong advocate for job | 11 | | creation in the 49th District in numerous ways, including her | 12 | | support of the $31 billion capital construction bill, which | 13 | | will provide her Central Illinois district with over $700,000 | 14 | | for municipal repairs and more than $400,000 for school | 15 | | improvements and, in turn, thousands of jobs; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Understanding the importance of coal in providing | 17 | | both jobs and energy, Senator Demuzio has worked to expand the | 18 | | use of coal in Illinois to bring jobs to the coal industry, as | 19 | | well as expand the use of clean coal technology and other | 20 | | alternative fuels, like bio-diesel, to Central Illinois; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio, as a member and as the former | 22 | | Vice-Chairperson of the Senate Education Committee, has |
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| 1 | | championed mentoring programs for principals, increased | 2 | | pre-school education, and tirelessly advocated for more | 3 | | dollars for local schools; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio was named to the Illinois State | 5 | | Action for Education Leadership Project (IL-SAELP) Executive | 6 | | Committee, a bi-partisan committee that seeks to improve | 7 | | student achievement statewide; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Understanding that a first-class learning | 9 | | environment is necessary for a student's success, Senator | 10 | | Demuzio sponsored numerous bills to help Illinois schools | 11 | | employ highly trained principals and superintendents, | 12 | | including her legislation that will require, starting in 2014, | 13 | | that school principals will be required to complete an approved | 14 | | principal preparation program, hold at least a master's degree, | 15 | | and have a minimum of 4 years teaching or other school service | 16 | | experience; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio, who has made it a priority to | 18 | | develop good education policy in Illinois to ensure each child | 19 | | has access to a good school, has been recognized for her | 20 | | efforts on behalf of education, receiving the "All Award" from | 21 | | both Illinois Education Association Regions 6 and 45; she has | 22 | | also been recognized by the Illinois Association of Regional | 23 | | School Superintendents Area 5 as a "Friend of Education"; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio is a strong supporter of higher | 2 | | education and has served on the Blackburn College Board of | 3 | | Trustees since 2004; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has served as Chair of the Senate | 5 | | Committee on State Government and Veteran Affairs in the 95th | 6 | | and 96th General Assemblies, where she has been a strong voice | 7 | | for the wellbeing of Illinois' veterans; she was honored with | 8 | | "The Heat is On" Meritorious Service Award by the Illinois | 9 | | Veterans of Foreign Wars in honor of her work; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has worked to ease the burden on | 11 | | military families with school-age children by passing | 12 | | legislation that allows Illinois to enter into the Interstate | 13 | | Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children, | 14 | | which will make it easier for children of military personnel | 15 | | who change schools to transfer school credits and complete | 16 | | coursework in order to graduate; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has also passed legislation that | 18 | | will simplify the process by which veterans receive free | 19 | | hunting and fishing licenses in Illinois, as well as | 20 | | legislation which allows veterans to camp for free in Illinois; | 21 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio also serves as Vice-Chairperson | 2 | | on both the Human Services Committee and the Redistricting | 3 | | Committee and has been an active member of the committees on | 4 | | Agriculture and Conservation and Commerce and Economic | 5 | | Development; she is also the former Chair of the Senate | 6 | | Licensed Activities Committee; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has made it a priority to bring | 8 | | better healthcare opportunities to rural and underserved areas | 9 | | of the State; she served as the chair of the Joint Task Force | 10 | | on Rural Health and Medically Underserved Areas, which led to | 11 | | her sponsorship of a new law that will make dental care | 12 | | available to more people in the State of Illinois by allowing | 13 | | the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to expand | 14 | | administrative rules permitting dentists to volunteer their | 15 | | time at qualified health centers in their communities; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio became a member of the St. Francis | 17 | | Hospital Board of Directors Strategic Planning Advisory Group | 18 | | in 2009; she has been recognized for her work to improve | 19 | | healthcare for residents of Illinois by the Illinois Rural | 20 | | Health Association; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Following the death of her husband from colon | 22 | | cancer, Senator Demuzio became a strong supporter of colorectal | 23 | | cancer screening, passing legislation creating the Vince |
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| 1 | | Demuzio Memorial Colon Cancer Fund and working to ensure that | 2 | | individuals who live in areas of the State that have the | 3 | | highest incidences of mortality from colorectal cancer have | 4 | | access to early detection and treatment opportunities; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Having grown up on a farm, Senator Demuzio has | 6 | | always been a strong supporter of Illinois' number one industry - | 7 | | agriculture; in addition to her service as a member of the | 8 | | Senate Agriculture and Conservation Committee, she is a former | 9 | | co-chair of the Rural Water Task Force and has been recognized | 10 | | with the Illinois Farm Bureau Activator Award; she has also | 11 | | been honored by the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association | 12 | | for her commitment to agriculture that involves proper | 13 | | stewardship and utilization of agricultural chemicals; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, With the proximity of Senator Demuzio's district | 15 | | to Springfield, she has been a strong voice in support of State | 16 | | employees who reside in her district and work at any one of | 17 | | many State facilities and offices in the Springfield area; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has also been involved with other | 19 | | community organizations, including the PTA, the American Heart | 20 | | Association, and the Rotary Club; she also served as a Macoupin | 21 | | County Fair Judge until very recently; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has served as President of the |
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| 1 | | Carlinville Public School Foundation; she also served as a | 2 | | member of the board for Kemmerer Village, Catholic Charities, | 3 | | and the Carlinville Public Library, and has been actively | 4 | | involved in organizations such as the Daughters of the American | 5 | | Revolution, the Catholic Daughters of America, Relay for Life, | 6 | | the Jacksonville Kiwanis, and the Macoupin County Democratic | 7 | | Women's Organization; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio's commitment to her district and | 9 | | its communities and their values is demonstrated in the | 10 | | effective job she has done as a State Senator and by the | 11 | | recognition she has received from numerous groups and | 12 | | organizations, including the Illinois School for the Deaf and | 13 | | the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, who awarded her | 14 | | a plaque of thanks for her work to keep the schools open, the | 15 | | Illinois Valley Rehab Center, who proclaimed her a "Champion of | 16 | | the Less Fortunate", and the Macoupin County Friend of the Fair | 17 | | Award; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio is the mother of her loving son, | 19 | | Brad, and her wonderful daughter, Stephanie, who is married to | 20 | | Patrick, and is the grandmother of 4; she will be dearly missed | 21 | | by all in this chamber; therefore, be it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 23 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank State Senator |
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| 1 | | Deanna Demuzio for her dedicated service to the people of | 2 | | Illinois and honor her with this resolution; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 | | presented to State Senator Deanna Demuzio with our best wishes | 5 | | for her future endeavors.
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