SR0754 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0754 LRB101 15094 MST 64209 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Toi W. Hutchinson began her career in the Illinois Senate in 2009 and has proudly and admirably represented the families of Cook, Grundy, Kankakee, and Will Counties, an area often cited as a microcosm of Illinois as a whole due to its racial, geographic, and economic diversity; and

WHEREAS, Born in Tennessee, Senator Hutchinson and her family moved to Chicago's south suburbs, where, as a child, she attended Infant Jesus of Prague School in Flossmoor and Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields; and

WHEREAS, Senator Hutchinson earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a law degree from Northern Illinois University College of Law; she graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Management Program and is a 2012 Edgar Fellow of the Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs; and

WHEREAS, Senator Hutchinson entered public service in 2002, when she began two terms as Village Clerk of Olympia Fields; she was appointed to the Illinois State Senate in January of 2009; and

WHEREAS, As Chair of the Senate Revenue Committee, Senator Hutchinson often found herself at the center of some of the most pressing fiscal and economic issues facing Illinois; and

WHEREAS, In her role as Chair, Senator Hutchinson led in the passage of a difficult but necessary income tax increase that stabilized Illinois' finances after years of devastating budget woes, passed legislation increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the standard tax exemption, allowing working families to keep more of their hard-earned money, and worked to close corporate tax loopholes to ensure large corporations paid their fair share in taxes; and

WHEREAS, During her time in the Senate, Senator Hutchinson passed numerous new laws aimed at protecting women, children, seniors, and Illinoisans with disabilities, including leading the effort to safeguard pregnant women in the workplace from discrimination; and

WHEREAS, Senator Hutchinson teamed with former Attorney General Lisa Madigan to make Illinois the first state that mandates all rape kits be tested within ten days and worked on numerous measures ensuring victims of sex trafficking and stalking have the resources they need to recover and return to society; and

WHEREAS, Senator Hutchinson led a crackdown on the culture of sexual harassment in state government, passing legislation to require members of the General Assembly, as well as legislative staff and lobbyists, to participate in sexual harassment awareness training; and

WHEREAS, Senator Hutchinson recognized the importance of transportation development for the communities she served and passed a law creating the Southeast Commuter Rail Transit District, which will eventually construct a new Metra line connecting eleven South Suburban communities with downtown Chicago, as well as creating the first public-private financing agreement in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, As a proud mother of public school students concerned about the increasing number of students, especially African American boys, who receive severe disciplinary action that keeps them out of the classroom, Senator Hutchinson passed a law to study the problem and work with school districts to reduce expulsions and suspensions; and

WHEREAS, One of Senator Hutchinson's hardest and most high-profile successes while in the Senate was working with her colleagues on the passage of cannabis legalization legislation that prioritizes social equity, which complemented Senator Hutchinson's legislation allowing a legal cannabis business to use the banking system in Illinois and the creation of the Industrial Hemp Act, allowing farmers in Illinois to cultivate and process industrial hemp; and

WHEREAS, A fierce proponent of a tax system that allows working families to thrive, Senator Hutchinson passed legislation to create a graduated rate structure for Illinois' income tax system, with lower-income families paying less while wealthier individuals would pay more; specifically, Illinoisans making less than $250,000 per year, which represents 97 percent of taxpayers, would pay the same or less in income taxes; and

WHEREAS, Senator Hutchinson passed legislation increasing stability and funding for Illinois families who rely on the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) by extending the redetermination period for eligibility from six months to 12 months and passed legislation protecting CCAP recipients by removing the executive branch's ability to unilaterally reduce eligibility through stringent requirements; and

WHEREAS, Senator Hutchinson recently ended her one-year leadership of the National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL), a bipartisan non-governmental organization that serves thousands of state lawmakers and staffers, during which Hutchinson traveled across the globe, connected with leaders from all walks of life, and shared with them the information and resources to better serve the common good; and

WHEREAS, Throughout her tenure in the Illinois Senate, Senator Hutchinson's leadership and dedication earned her a number of accolades; in 2011, she received the Governors State University Annuitants Association Award "in appreciation of her leadership and advocacy on behalf of her constituents"; in 2013, she earned the Moxie Award from the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault; in 2014, she earned the Champion Award from the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Assault; in 2016, she received the Legislative Champion Award from the Illinois State Alliance of YMCAs, and in 2018, she received one of Governing Magazine's Public Officials of the Year Awards; and

WHEREAS, Upon her retirement from the Illinois General Assembly, Senator Hutchinson will continue to advance the values of justice and equity as the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer for the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Senator Hutchinson's most cherished role is being a wife to her husband Paul and a mother to her three children, Paul Jr., Camryn, and Ryan; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank State Senator Toi Hutchinson for her service to the people of Illinois and honor her with this resolution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Senator Hutchinson with our best wishes for all her future endeavors.