Full Text of HR1387 97th General Assembly
HR1387 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to congratulate our friend and | 4 | | colleague, Illinois State Representative Kent Gaffney, on the | 5 | | occasion of his retirement and thank him for his service to the | 6 | | people of the State of Illinois; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Representative Gaffney has been married to his | 8 | | wife, Elizabeth for 15 years after first meeting her while they | 9 | | both worked at the Capitol on legislative issues, and they are | 10 | | now the proud parents of 2 wonderful boys, Adam and Alexander; | 11 | | and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Representative Gaffney graduated from | 13 | | Williamsville High School prior to attending and graduating | 14 | | from Purdue University with a bachelor of arts degree in | 15 | | political science; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Representative Gaffney began his career in public | 17 | | service in 1988, working for the Illinois Senate during college | 18 | | summers and working in the private sector before coming back to | 19 | | public service in 1997 by taking a position on the House | 20 | | Republican Staff; there he worked on major issues and pieces of | 21 | | legislation including the deregulation of the utility industry | 22 | | and the funding and construction of the new Chicago Bears |
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| 1 | | stadium; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, After years of hard work and dedicated service, he | 3 | | became the Director of Appropriations for the House Republican | 4 | | Caucus in January 2001, and as Director of Appropriations, | 5 | | Representative Gaffney was the "go-to" person for all issues | 6 | | regarding Illinois appropriations; as a leadership staff | 7 | | member, he aided in developing policy positions for the caucus | 8 | | and spent over a decade negotiating the State's budget with 3 | 9 | | Governors and the legislative leaders of the other caucuses, | 10 | | always advocating for fiscally responsible and balanced | 11 | | budgets; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Representative Gaffney was appointed to serve as | 13 | | State Representative for the 52nd District on July, 4, 2011, | 14 | | after the untimely death of his long-time friend and colleague | 15 | | Representative Mark Beaubien; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, As State Representative, Kent Gaffney sponsored | 17 | | numerous pieces of legislation, including PA 97-0565, which | 18 | | helps to relieve local merchants of government regulations | 19 | | regarding caustic substances, and PA 97-0982, which helps | 20 | | relieve the cost on local government when a State's Attorney is | 21 | | absent; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Representative Gaffney served as an advocate for |
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| 1 | | many causes, such as the abolishment of legislative | 2 | | scholarships, pension reform, and the victims' bill of rights; | 3 | | and he continued budget policy work and was appointed by the | 4 | | Governor to be the only House Republican member to serve on the | 5 | | Budgeting for Results Commission; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Representative Gaffney was very active in the | 7 | | local community, he served as host to several town hall forums, | 8 | | including those in Island Lake, Lake in the Hills, and Crystal | 9 | | Lake, and recognized and congratulated the Prairie Ridge | 10 | | football team for winning the CLASS 6A football championship, | 11 | | the Cary-Grove volleyball team for taking 2nd place at the 4A | 12 | | State Championship, and mourning the death of local leader | 13 | | Lester Macko, former fire chief of the Cary Fire District; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, In recognition of his clear commitment to public | 15 | | service and his belief in working towards bi-partisan | 16 | | solutions, Representative Gaffney was nominated and selected | 17 | | to be one of 40 members of the 2012 Inaugural Class of the | 18 | | Edgar Fellows Program; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Representative Gaffney serves as a model of hard | 20 | | work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | 21 | | Illinois; therefore, be it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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| 1 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 2 | | we congratulate our friend and colleague, Illinois State | 3 | | Representative Kent Gaffney, on the occasion of his retirement, | 4 | | thank him for his service to the people of the State, and wish | 5 | | him continued success and happiness in the future; and be it | 6 | | further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to Representative Kent Gaffney as a symbol of our | 9 | | esteem and respect.
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