093_HR0513 LRB093 13676 HSS 19064 r 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of 3 the State of Illinois wish to congratulate Raymond P. Botch, 4 Jr. of Westmont on the occasion of his retirement as Village 5 Manager of Westmont; and 6 WHEREAS, Mr. Botch was born March 2, 1943 in Waterbury, 7 Connecticut; he graduated from Elgin High School in 1961; he 8 was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Ambrose 9 College in Davenport, Iowa in 1965 and an M.P.A. from the 10 University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas in 1968; and 11 WHEREAS, Mr. Botch has served as the Village Manager of 12 Westmont since November 1, 1985; under his leadership, 13 Westmont has emphasized professionalism; during his tenure, 14 the police department was accredited in 1999 by the 15 Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies; the 16 fire department received accreditation in 2001 from the 17 International City Management Association/International Fire 18 Chiefs Association; Westmont received the Government Finance 19 Officers Association's highest award for budget presentation, 20 the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award in 2001, 2002, 21 and 2003; and 22 WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Mr. Botch, the business 23 sector of Westmont has grown; the yearly business revenues 24 increased from $295 million in 1990 to $823 million in 2002; 25 the increase in revenue allows Westmont to have one of the 26 lowest municipal tax rates in DuPage County; and 27 WHEREAS, A major accomplishment during Mr. Botch's career 28 was the redevelopment of the downtown area through the 29 construction of Westmont Centre, Westmont Plaza, and a new 30 village hall; on July 6, 1999, a resolution was passed 31 unanimously by the Westmont Village Board to dedicate the 32 Westmont Centre in honor of Mr. Botch; and -2- LRB093 13676 HSS 19064 r 1 WHEREAS, Mr. Botch has been a member of several 2 professional and civic organizations, including the 3 International City Management Association, the Westmont 4 Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau, Westmont Main Street 5 (charter member), the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau, 6 the St. Ambrose College Alumni Association, the University of 7 Kansas Alumni Association (life member), the DuPage Mayors 8 and Managers Association, the Illinois City Management 9 Association, the Metro Managers Association, the Fraternal 10 Order of Police (associate member), the Illinois Municipal 11 League, the Westmont High School Booster Club, the Mt. Vernon 12 High School Booster Club, the Mt. Vernon Sportsman's Club, 13 the Elks Lodge #819, the Moose Lodge #755, and the Green 14 Hills Golf Club; and 15 WHEREAS, During his career, Mr. Botch has also worked as 16 the City Manager of Mt. Vernon and the Assistant City Manager 17 of Highland Park; he has been the recipient of numerous 18 awards and achievements; he became a credentialed manager by 19 the International City Management Association in 2003; he was 20 Westmont Citizen of the Year in 1998 and has served as the 21 president of the Westmont Chamber of Commerce and Tourism 22 Bureau; in 1997, he received the Distinguished Service Award 23 from the Westmont Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau and 24 in 1994, he was named Business Person of the Year by the same 25 group; in 1990, he was named the Government Official of the 26 Year by the Downers Grove/Westmont Knights of Columbus; 27 therefore, be it 28 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 29 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 30 we congratulate Mr. Raymond P. Botch, Jr. on the occasion of 31 his retirement as Village Manager of Westmont, and we wish 32 him the best in his retirement; and be it further 33 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be -3- LRB093 13676 HSS 19064 r 1 presented to Mr. Botch as an expression of our esteem.