Full Text of HR1311 100th General Assembly
HR1311 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate their former
colleague, | 4 | | Patricia R. "Patti" Bellock, on her long and distinguished | 5 | | career of public service as a DuPage
County Board member, State | 6 | | Representative of the 47th District, and as Director of the | 7 | | Illinois
Department of Healthcare and Family Services; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Bellock was born Patricia Rigney on October | 9 | | 14, 1946 to proud parents, John Rigney and
Dorothy Comiskey | 10 | | Rigney, big sister, Mary Sharon, and loving grandmother, Grace | 11 | | Comiskey, owner of the
Chicago White Sox; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Bellock grew up in River Forest and graduated | 13 | | from Saint Norbert College in
Wisconsin, where she received a | 14 | | bachelor's degree in history and American government; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Prior to entering public service, Rep. Bellock | 16 | | taught school in both Fairbanks, Alaska and
Milwaukee, | 17 | | Wisconsin and served as vice president of a sports investment | 18 | | firm in the private sector; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Bellock moved to Hinsdale in the early 1970s, | 20 | | where she raised her two daughters,
Colleen and Dorothy, and | 21 | | became active in the Downers Grove Township Republican |
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| 1 | | Organization; she was elected as a Precinct Committeeman and | 2 | | volunteered for local candidates and community causes; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Bellock was elected to the DuPage County | 4 | | Board in 1992 and served with
distinction for six years; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, In 1998, Rep. Bellock ran for State Representative | 6 | | and won a competitive four-way Republican
primary in the 81st | 7 | | District for the seat being vacated by Rep. Judy Biggert; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Bellock was elected State Representative in | 9 | | November of 1998 and took the oath of office in
January 1999 as | 10 | | a member of the 91st General Assembly, the first of what would | 11 | | ultimately be 10 terms
in the Illinois House of | 12 | | Representatives; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Throughout her nearly 20 years as a member of the | 14 | | Illinois House of Representatives, Rep.
Bellock was a tireless | 15 | | advocate in the areas of education, juvenile justice, | 16 | | healthcare, developmental
disabilities, and mental health; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Rep.
Bellock's landmark legislation, which | 18 | | reformed the Illinois Medicaid system, the SMART Act, and other | 19 | | legislation addressing mental health parity, MRSA infection | 20 | | control, improving the Amber Alert system, and
strengthening | 21 | | child support in Illinois have all been recognized on a |
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| 1 | | national level; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, In October of 2013, Rep. Bellock was appointed | 3 | | Deputy Minority Leader; she was the first woman in
Illinois | 4 | | history to hold that position and served until her retirement | 5 | | from the Illinois House of
Representatives in July of 2018; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Over the course of her legislative career, Rep. | 7 | | Bellock served as the Chief Budget Negotiator for
the House | 8 | | Republicans, as the Minority Spokeswoman on both the Human | 9 | | Services Committee and the
Human Services-Appropriations | 10 | | Committee, and as a member of the Labor & Commerce Committee; | 11 | | and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Throughout her legislative career, Rep. Bellock | 13 | | received numerous state and national awards
for her role in | 14 | | various community projects and served on several local boards | 15 | | for groups addressing the
issues of taxes, substance abuse, | 16 | | Alzheimer's, autism, human services, mental health, Multiple | 17 | | Sclerosis,
violence prevention, and the arts; she was named | 18 | | Legislator of the Year by over 20 different
associations and | 19 | | organizations; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Rep. Bellock was appointed to the National Health | 21 | | Care Committee of the National
Conference of State Legislators | 22 | | (NCSL) in Washington, D.C. and also served as the Midwest |
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| 1 | | Director for
the national group, Women in Government; she | 2 | | chaired the Conference of Women Legislators in
Springfield, a | 3 | | bipartisan group of women legislators; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, In July of 2018, Rep. Bellock resigned from the | 5 | | House of Representatives in order to accept an
appointment from | 6 | | Governor Rauner to be the new Director of the Illinois | 7 | | Department of Healthcare and
Family Services, where she has | 8 | | continued her work on behalf of the State's most vulnerable | 9 | | children,
families, and seniors; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Although we already miss Rep. Bellock's presence | 11 | | as a member of the Illinois House of
Representatives, we are | 12 | | grateful for her continued service to the people of the State | 13 | | of Illinois and are
happy that she will be able to spend more | 14 | | time with her family, especially her beloved grandchildren
| 15 | | Will, Grace, Libby, Charlie, and Catherine; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 17 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 18 | | commend Patricia R. "Patti" Bellock on her distinguished career | 19 | | of public
service as a DuPage County Board member, as an | 20 | | Illinois State Representative from 1999-2018, and as
Director | 21 | | of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services; | 22 | | and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to the Honorable Patti Bellock as a symbol of our
| 3 | | esteem and respect for our former colleague and cherished | 4 | | friend.
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