SR1610 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1610 LRB101 23482 ECR 74888 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Senator Pat McGuire began his career in the Illinois Senate in 2012; for eight years, he has proudly and ably served the people of DuPage and Will Counties in that position; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire came to public service long before his election to the General Assembly; he taught job health and safety to local union members and English to high school and community college students; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire has brought a lifetime of experience in both private and public schooling to his role in the Senate; he attended Catholic schools in his hometown of Joliet and later served as a member of his local school board; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire also served his community in elective office as a county treasurer before becoming a state senator; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire has been a strong advocate for women and children, including acting to toughen penalties on domestic abusers and funding Court Appointed Special Advocate organizations in order to ensure that abused and neglected children are getting the court support that they need and deserve; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire used his position as Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee to be a tireless champion for the hardworking students and families looking for opportunity in Illinois, including his push to standardize Advanced Placement class credit; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire worked to preserve and redevelop Joliet's government facilities, including serving as a charter member of the Collins Street Task Force to preserve the Collins Street prison facility and fighting to ensure that efforts are made to preserve a longtime fixture of the community; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire was among those leading the fight for fairer wages in the Illinois Senate by co-sponsoring a measure to raise the minimum wage in Illinois to $15 per hour; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire spoke against harmful cuts to programs like child care assistance and fought to preserve payroll for state workers during the two year budget crisis that occurred early in his career in the Senate; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire used his position as the Senate Higher Education Chair to lead a years-long outcry among students, faculty, and activists to call for funding for universities during the two-year budget impasse; he spoke against cuts to the university system and in favor of continuing a commitment to affordability, accessibility, and quality on the part of the state's public institutions of higher learning; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire worked to form and lead the bipartisan, bicameral Higher Education Working Group that was instrumental in preserving and reforming Monetary Award Program funding for college students and in creating the AIM HIGH state scholarship; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire focused on college affordability by compromising with colleagues and building on past successes to bring about the Higher Education Savings Program and the Illinois Savings Program Fund to help bring higher education within reach of even more Illinoisans; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire also concerned himself with the wellbeing of students on campus by creating the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act to respond to the very real pressures and uncertainties facing many students living away from home for the first time; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire dedicated himself to improving the State's Department of Children and Family Services by speaking with community members and agency officials on how to support families in the system and improving the Department's ability to respond to their needs; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire dedicated much of his career to support worker safety by pushing for worker access to and knowledge of the regulations and protections granted by OSHA and other state workplace safety organizations; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire, responding to the dire safety concerns posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to essential workers, convened a legislative working group with the goal of providing employees with the means to report improper conditions and provide employers with clear guidance on how to reorganize their workplaces to maximize worker safety and to minimize the likelihood of transmitting the virus; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire earned many accolades during his time serving the 43rd Senate District, including being honored by the Romeoville Fraternal Order of Police, the Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education, the Transportation for Illinois Coalition, the Illinois Optometric Association, Leading Age Illinois, Joliet Central, the senior living communities Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook and Woodridge Horizon, the Southwest Coalition on Substance Abuse Issues, and Volunteers of America of Illinois and by being a member of the Edgar Fellows Program's Class of 2017, among other honors; and

WHEREAS, Senator McGuire exits the Senate to dedicate more time to his most important roles of being a husband to his wife Lora and a father to his daughter Molly; therefore, be it

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

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