HR1186 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1186 LRB098 21620 GRL 60434 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representative are proud to congratulate Michael J. Rohan of Chicago on the occasion of his retirement from the Cook County Juvenile Probation and Court Services Department on May 31, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Michael Rohan has spent his lifetime helping children of all walks of life, fortunate and unfortunate, during his 37 years with the Circuit Court of Cook County; and

WHEREAS, In his role as Director of the Juvenile Probation and Court Services Department, Michael Rohan is responsible for a staff of 450, an annual budget of $35 million, and the supervision of nearly 6,000 minors under the age of 18; and

WHEREAS, Michael Rohan has also served as acting director of the Cook County Adult Probation Department and the Forensic Clinical Services Department, the Director of Human Services, and a Systems Analyst for the Circuit Court of Cook County; and

WHEREAS, Michael Rohan received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Master of Science in Industrial Relations from Loyola University, as well as a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Illinois; he has held an instructor/research position in the Criminal Justice Department of the University of Illinois and at the Chicago Police Academy; he is also an adjunct Professor/Lecturer in Criminal Justice at Loyola University and an associate with the Vera Institute's Youth Justice Program in New York; and

WHEREAS, Michael Rohan has served not only Cook County, but the entire State of Illinois, working tirelessly for all probation departments in Illinois to enhance probation services everywhere in Illinois through his active membership in the Illinois Probation and Court Services Association, where he served 4 two-year terms as President and continues to serve probation as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Probation Advisory Committee; and

WHEREAS, Michael Rohan has served our Cook County, the State of Illinois, and the nation tirelessly, leading the effort to improve juvenile detention through the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative; partnering with the esteemed Annie E. Casey Foundation, he helped establish Cook County Juvenile Probation as one of only 3 demonstration sites in the United States, insuring that youthful offenders are placed in the most appropriate structure, removing race as a factor in sentencing, and hosting visiting delegations from throughout the country and across the world; and

WHEREAS, Michael Rohan has received numerous recognitions throughout his career, but none more descriptive than the simple recognition that he is truly "A Probation Officer's Probation Officer"; and

WHEREAS, Like John Augustus, the father of probation, Michael Rohan has mentored young probation officers, teaching them from the heart and the rule book, as well as the youthful offenders under his supervision, epitomizing Mr. Augustus' self-description, "My mission has been to raise the fallen, reform the criminal and so far as my humble abilities would allow, to transform the abode of suffering and misery to the home of happiness"; and

WHEREAS, Michael Rohan has been fortunate to have joined with his best friend and wife of 38 years, Mary Rohan, to create their own home of happiness, with 4 children, Meagan, Michael, Daniel, and Erin, 2 daughters-in-law, Ashley and Megan, and 2 granddaughters, Hannah and Fiona; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Michael J. Rohan on his retirement from the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department and wish him all the best in his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Michael Rohan as an expression of our esteem.