Full Text of HR1386 98th General Assembly
HR1386 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to honor our friend and colleague, | 4 | | Illinois State Representative Renée Kosel, for her years of | 5 | | dedicated service to the people of the State of Illinois; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel earned her bachelor's degree | 7 | | in education from Western Illinois University; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel enjoyed a career as a school | 9 | | teacher in both Chicago and New Lenox, where she gained a keen | 10 | | understanding of the Illinois education system and the need for | 11 | | improvement; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel and her husband, Dr. Alfred | 13 | | Kosel, are long-time residents of New Lenox and have 3 | 14 | | children, Janine Valkema, Christopher, and Eric; she and her | 15 | | husband have been blessed with 9 grandchildren; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel has been an active member of | 17 | | her community working towards its betterment, having served on | 18 | | the Lincoln-Way Central High School Board of Education and | 19 | | served on the Lincoln-Way Foundation for Educational | 20 | | Excellence Board of Directors; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel and her husband are members | 2 | | of Trinity Lutheran Church in New Lenox, and she is a member of | 3 | | the New Lenox Rotary Club; she currently serves with the | 4 | | Advocate Christ Medical Center Cancer Institute Foundation | 5 | | Board, the Alliance of the Illinois State Dental Society, and | 6 | | the Illinois State Rifle Association; she is also a past member | 7 | | of the Frankfort, Homer Township, Mokena, and New Lenox | 8 | | Chambers of Commerce, and is a current member of the Mokena | 9 | | Woman's Club; additionally, she serves as a member of Advocate | 10 | | Christ Medical Center Governing Council, serving as Chair from | 11 | | 2007 to 2009 and currently serving as Vice-Chair; she also | 12 | | serves as a Scholarship America Advisory Board member; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel was first elected to serve as | 14 | | State Representative on November 5, 1996, taking office in | 15 | | January of 1997; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel served as Assistant | 17 | | Republican Leader during her tenure, bringing the voice of her | 18 | | legislative district to the forefront of important issues; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel honorably represented the | 20 | | people of New Lenox, Mokena, Tinley Park, Frankfort, Homer | 21 | | Glen, Joliet, Lockport, and Orland Park; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel served with distinction on |
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| 1 | | many committees, caucuses, and task forces, including Tollway | 2 | | Oversight, Health Care Licenses, International Trade & | 3 | | Commerce, and Executive Committees, and as Republican | 4 | | Spokesperson for the Museums, Arts, & Cultural Enhancement | 5 | | Committee; she was a member of the Illinois Historic | 6 | | Preservation Caucus, the Local Government Caucus, the | 7 | | Environmental Legislative Caucus, the Fire Prevention Caucus, | 8 | | the Manufacturing Caucus, the Education Caucus, the Illinois | 9 | | House Special Committee on the Illinois State Toll Highway | 10 | | Authority, the Tax Relief Task Force, the Gambling Reform Task | 11 | | Force, the Education Task Force, the Project Success Oversight | 12 | | Committee, the Teacher Health Insurance Funding Task Force, the | 13 | | Jobs Creation Task Force, the Oral Health Summit Steering | 14 | | Committee, the Illinois-Liaoning (China) Sister State | 15 | | Committee, the House Republican Education Working Group, and | 16 | | the American Legislative Exchange Council Public Safety and | 17 | | Elections Task Force; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, During much of the 2000 to 2010 decade, | 19 | | Representative Kosel's district was one of the fastest-growing | 20 | | suburban areas in the United States, leading to major | 21 | | challenges for her and her office; she rose to the occasion and | 22 | | successfully met the needs of a rapidly-growing constituency; | 23 | | and | 24 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel always put the wishes of her |
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| 1 | | legislative district first by being a fierce advocate for | 2 | | fiscal responsibility, consistently voting to balance the | 3 | | State budget and hold the line on taxes to protect the citizens | 4 | | of Illinois; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel has received many awards | 6 | | during her years in office, including the American Legislative | 7 | | Exchange Council Legislator of the Year in 2008, the ARC of | 8 | | Illinois Legislator of the Year, the Illinois Home Health Care | 9 | | Council Legislator of the Year, the Advocates United Legislator | 10 | | of the Year in 1999 and 2003, the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce | 11 | | Legislator of the Year, the Illinois Farm Bureau's Friend of | 12 | | Agriculture in 2002, 2006, and 2010, the Employment Law | 13 | | Council's Job Defenders Award, the South Suburban Park & | 14 | | Recreation Professional Association's Legislator of the Year | 15 | | in 2002, the Illinois Association for Career and Technical | 16 | | Education 2005 Friend of Career and Technical Education, and | 17 | | both the Illinois Chamber of Commerce's Champion of Free | 18 | | Enterprise Award and Champion of Small Business Award; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel has worked tirelessly for | 20 | | the residents of her legislative district, sponsoring key | 21 | | pieces of legislation during her tenure, including a tax rebate | 22 | | for homeowners, expanding the Circuit Breaker Program, the | 23 | | "Bill of Rights" for property owners, and a waiting list bill | 24 | | for the disabled; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel has always placed education | 2 | | as her highest legislative priority; she fought for increased | 3 | | funding for our local schools and sponsored initiatives to | 4 | | improve school safety and reduce classroom sizes; she sponsored | 5 | | legislation to reform School Superintendents' retirement plans | 6 | | and was instrumental in enacting the School Construction | 7 | | Program; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, During her 18 years in the Illinois House of | 9 | | Representatives, Representative Kosel served as the Chief | 10 | | Sponsor and Co-Sponsor on countless bills that have improved | 11 | | the lives of those living within her legislative district and | 12 | | the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 15 | | we honor our friend and colleague Illinois State Representative | 16 | | Renée Kosel for her years of dedicated service to the people of | 17 | | this great State and wish her great success and happiness in | 18 | | her future endeavors; and be it further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 | | presented to Representative Kosel and her family as a symbol of | 21 | | our esteem, respect, and gratitude.
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