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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Thomas J. Weisner on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of his retirement as Mayor of the City of Aurora on | ||||||
| 5 | October 31, 2016; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner served in various positions in | ||||||
| 7 | administration for the City of Aurora for 20 years before | ||||||
| 8 | becoming one of just three mayors elected to three terms; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner focused on downtown riverfront | ||||||
| 10 | renewal, enhanced public safety, and the development of a | ||||||
| 11 | top-notch telecommunications infrastructure; in 2014, Aurora | ||||||
| 12 | was recognized as one of the top 10 safest mid-size cities in | ||||||
| 13 | the nation, and in the summer of 2016, it was recognized by | ||||||
| 14 | WalletHub as one of the top 20 best-run cities; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner worked to attract new jobs and bring | ||||||
| 16 | in economic development to Aurora; in August of 2016, the | ||||||
| 17 | unemployment rate in Aurora stood at 5.3%, well below the State | ||||||
| 18 | average; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner oversaw major projects during his | ||||||
| 20 | years of service, including the new Aurora Police Station, | ||||||
| 21 | which opened in 2010; the new Waubonsee College downtown campus | ||||||
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| 1 | complex, which opened in 2011; the RiverEdge Park, which opened | ||||||
| 2 | in 2013; and the new downtown Aurora Public Library, which | ||||||
| 3 | opened in 2015; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner was aggressive in modernizing | ||||||
| 5 | Aurora's aging road and bridges; in 12 years, 12 major bridges | ||||||
| 6 | were reconstructed; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner prioritized fixing Aurora's aging | ||||||
| 8 | underground infrastructure, completing millions of dollars in | ||||||
| 9 | water and sewer improvements, using green methods whenever | ||||||
| 10 | possible; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner has been a leader on the regional, | ||||||
| 12 | State, and national level; he served as the Chairman of the | ||||||
| 13 | Chicago Metropolitan Mayors
Caucus; in
recognition of his | ||||||
| 14 | leadership on regional issues, The DuPage Mayors and Managers | ||||||
| 15 | Conference, selected him as the Governmental Leader of the Year
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| 16 | in 2014; he is the founding Chairman of the Northwest Water | ||||||
| 17 | Planning Alliance,
one of only two regional water planning | ||||||
| 18 | organizations in Illinois; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Prior to his time in office, Mayor Weisner served | ||||||
| 20 | Aurora for 17 years in a variety of capacities; he is a former | ||||||
| 21 | board member of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority, where he | ||||||
| 22 | served as Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning and Customer | ||||||
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| 1 | Service Committee; he served as the Kane/Kendall counties | ||||||
| 2 | representative to the Chicago Metropolitan
Agency for | ||||||
| 3 | Planning; he was an Executive Board member of the Illinois
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| 4 | Municipal League, a member of the Pension Fairness for Illinois | ||||||
| 5 | Communities
Coalition, and past President of Metro West Council | ||||||
| 6 | of Governments; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner served as an officer or board member | ||||||
| 8 | with the Quad County Urban League,
Family Counseling Services, | ||||||
| 9 | the Boy Scouts of America, Study Circles, and the United Way; | ||||||
| 10 | he is the founding Chair of the Aurora East Educational | ||||||
| 11 | Foundation, and a founding
member of Aurora Cares; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner has had the distinction of being the | ||||||
| 13 | first Aurora mayor in a century to wear a beard throughout his | ||||||
| 14 | tenure; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Prior to joining the City of Aurora staff in 1986, | ||||||
| 16 | Mayor Weisner and his wife, Marilyn, served in
the Peace Corps, | ||||||
| 17 | assisting Melanesian rainforest dwellers in the highlands of
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| 18 | Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner attended Marmion Academy and | ||||||
| 20 | Marquette University; he holds a Bachelor of
Science in | ||||||
| 21 | Organizational Management, Summa Cum Laude, from
Aurora | ||||||
| 22 | University; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Mayor Weisner was born and raised in Batavia; he | ||||||
| 2 | and his wife moved to Aurora in 1973; he was employed by | ||||||
| 3 | Western
Electric; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, In honor of their son, Thaddeus, who passed away | ||||||
| 5 | at the age of 21, The Weisner Family Trust was established to | ||||||
| 6 | support children and families
challenged by the effects of | ||||||
| 7 | disease or disability; their foster son, Tony, joined their | ||||||
| 8 | family at the age of 14; therefore, be it
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| 9 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 10 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 11 | wish to congratulate Thomas J. Weisner on his retirement as | ||||||
| 12 | Mayor of the City of Aurora, and we wish him the best in all his | ||||||
| 13 | future endeavors; and be it further
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| 14 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 15 | presented to Mayor Weisner as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 16 | respect.
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