Full Text of HR0652 103rd General Assembly
HR0652 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | HR0652 | | LRB103 39837 MST 70522 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate Joel Jay Africk on his | 4 | | retirement from full-time employment as CEO of the Respiratory | 5 | | Health Association and commend him for his unwavering | 6 | | commitment to improving the health of residents of Illinois; | 7 | | and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk is a native of Chicago; he graduated | 9 | | from Niles North High School, the University of Illinois | 10 | | (Urbana), and Harvard Law School; afterward, he clerked for | 11 | | the Honorable Judge Bernard M. Decker and became a partner in | 12 | | the Chicago law firm of Jenner & Block, LLP, where he | 13 | | represented clients in a broad range of business litigation | 14 | | matters from 1984 to 2001; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk became the CEO of the Respiratory | 16 | | Health Association in 2002, focusing on creating a safer and | 17 | | healthier environment for Illinois families; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk helped pass the Chicago Smoke-Free | 19 | | Ordinance in 2005, amending the Clean Air Act to make all | 20 | | places of employment 100% smoke-free in the City of Chicago; | 21 | | and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk's leadership helped pass the 2007 | 2 | | Smoke-free Illinois Act, making all restaurants, bars, and | 3 | | other workplaces in Illinois 100% smoke-free; the law is | 4 | | considered the strongest smoke-free law in the country, as it | 5 | | includes casinos and private clubs in its list of required | 6 | | smoke-free venues; this policy was supported by more than 450 | 7 | | organizations and tens of thousands of advocates; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk helped pass the State's first No | 9 | | Idling Diesel Law, which limited diesel truck idling in the | 10 | | metropolitan Chicago and metro East St. Louis areas to 10 | 11 | | minutes; following this legislation, the Respiratory Health | 12 | | Association along with Citizen Action/Illinois formally | 13 | | launched the Illinois Campaign to Clean Up Diesel Pollution, | 14 | | with the aim to significantly clean up diesel pollution in the | 15 | | State; to date, over 80 public health, community, labor, and | 16 | | environmental organizations have endorsed the campaign; in | 17 | | 2008, he helped secure $19.5 million in federal Congestion | 18 | | Mitigation and Air Improvement funding to clean up diesel | 19 | | engines in the Chicago metropolitan area, the largest amount | 20 | | of money the committee has dedicated for diesel cleanup in | 21 | | Chicago; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk launched the first annual Living | 23 | | Better Together COPD Conference in 2005, the largest patient | 24 | | gathering in the U.S., and led a coalition in the development |
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| 1 | | of the nation's first statewide COPD plan to reduce | 2 | | COPD-related morbidity and mortality, which improved the | 3 | | quality of life for people in Illinois living with COPD; he | 4 | | created the COPD Caregiver's Toolkit in 2017, which was | 5 | | digitalized and became available nationwide on the National | 6 | | Institute of Health website in 2023; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk's effort to ensure smoke-free places | 8 | | for Illinois residents enabled the Chicago Parks districts to | 9 | | adopt a smoke-free park policy, covering 580 parks, 90 | 10 | | gardens, 90 museum campuses, 9 lakefront harbors, 9 skating | 11 | | rinks, and more than 24 miles of lakefront property, becoming | 12 | | the largest smoke-free park district in the country; the | 13 | | Respiratory Health Association's efforts, with the help of | 14 | | many advocates and institutions, reduced the adult smoking | 15 | | rate in Illinois from 20.9% in 2011 to 12.1% in 2021 and the | 16 | | statewide youth smoking rate from 12.5% in 2009 to 1.1% in | 17 | | 2021; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk was passionate about raising | 19 | | awareness and support for community events that supported the | 20 | | mission to create smoke-free environments in Illinois; he | 21 | | championed initiatives through creative community events, | 22 | | propelling The Witt Hotel and The Hustle, which has raised | 23 | | just under $21 million over its lifetime, the Jewelry | 24 | | Television, and Catch Your Breath fundraisers and three |
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| 1 | | Chicago Auto Show black-tie galas to support the Respiratory | 2 | | Health Association and community efforts in promoting | 3 | | Smoke-Free Illinois and patient support programs; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk and the Respiratory Health | 5 | | Association worked with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn in 2009 to | 6 | | release a Green Construction Executive Order, which requires | 7 | | all state-funded road construction projects, in non-attainment | 8 | | areas, to use clean construction practices; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk and the Respiratory Health | 10 | | Association worked to pass the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act in | 11 | | 2021, which sets Illinois on the path to 100% clean energy by | 12 | | 2050 and commits millions of dollars to quickly expand | 13 | | transportation electrification in Illinois; this law has been | 14 | | instrumental in closing or preventing 23 coal power plant | 15 | | operations; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk was born to Diane (Lazow) and Richard | 17 | | Africk, along with younger siblings, Michael Africk and Juli | 18 | | Noll; he married Julie Magyar on December 17, 1989, and they | 19 | | have three children, Jared (Kate), Megan, and Sarah Africk; | 20 | | and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Joel Africk looks forward to spending more time | 22 | | with his family, traveling, and cycling in retirement; |
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| 1 | | therefore, be it | 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 3 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 4 | | we congratulate Joel Africk on his retirement from full-time | 5 | | employment as the CEO of Respiratory Health, and we commend | 6 | | him on his many years of service on behalf the residents in the | 7 | | State of Illinois and beyond; and be it further | 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to Joel Africk as a symbol of our esteem and respect. |
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