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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, State Senator Andy Manar will step away from the
3Illinois Senate after eight years of dedicated service to the
4people of the 48th District and a vigorous record of fighting
5for children, working families, educators, small businesses,
6and senior citizens; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Senator Manar, a lifelong resident of Bunker Hill
8in southern Macoupin County, has served in elected public
9office for nearly 24 years; he was first elected to the Bunker
10Hill City Council at the age of 21 in 1997; he was elected
11mayor of Bunker Hill in 2001; he later chaired the Macoupin
12County Board until his election to the Illinois Senate in 2012;
13and
 
14    WHEREAS, Senator Manar's influences include his family and
15his mentor, the late State Senator Vince Demuzio, who instilled
16in him the deeply held beliefs that hard work, a record of
17bipartisanship, and accountability to the people he represents
18are among his most important achievements as an elected
19official; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Senator Manar has been a champion for responsible
21State budgets, collective bargaining, access to affordable
22health care, teachers, and the LGBTQ community; he passed

 

 

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1numerous laws that will have a lasting impact on Illinois
2citizens for generations; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Arguably, Senator Manar's most defining
4accomplishments were born out of his passion for and commitment
5to public education in Illinois; in addition to taking steps to
6address a dire teacher shortage in schools throughout the
7State, he and a coalition of advocates succeeded in reshaping
8the way Illinois schools are funded after decades of
9worst-in-the-nation rankings for the State's contributions to
10school funding; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Senator Manar spent countless hours negotiating a
12plan to overhaul the school funding formula, holding town hall
13meetings, talking with school superintendents, explaining
14school funding to taxpayers, and making the case to newspaper
15editorial boards throughout Illinois for why the State should
16update its formula; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Senator Manar's efforts resulted in the
18Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act becoming law in
192017, which meant that Illinois would put the most underfunded
20school districts at the front of the line for State support and
21make equity the foundation of public school funding for the
22first time in a generation; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Senator Manar has also been an ardent proponent of
2affordable, accessible health care, particularly in rural and
3underserved communities; he was instrumental in creating the
4Critical Access Pharmacy program to help independent,
5locally-owned pharmacies keep their doors open in the wake of
6increasing financial pressure from corporations and pharmacy
7benefit managers; he also passed the State's first regulation
8of pharmacy benefit managers in Illinois; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Seeing that the exorbitant cost of insulin put
10this life-saving drug out of reach for many Illinoisans,
11Senator Manar built a statewide, grassroots campaign and
12contended with predatory pharmaceutical companies, passing a
13historic law to cap the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $100
14per month in Illinois; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Senator Manar made access to the ballot box
16another priority, and he succeeded in passing an automatic
17voter registration plan that has modernized State bureaucracy
18and made it easier for Illinois citizens to register to vote
19while also protecting the State from voter fraud; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Senator Manar served as chair of one of the
21Illinois Senate's two budget committees during a period of
22great political gridlock and financial uncertainty; he
23delivered millions of dollars in State investments for schools,

 

 

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1parks, libraries, and roads to communities in the 48th
2District; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Senator Manar directed State resources to
4programs to help develop the 48th District's workforce,
5including millions of dollars for the Work Skills Program at
6Richland Community College in Decatur, for the South Macoupin
7Consortium for Innovation and Career Pathways serving students
8in six high schools, in funding for a new South Central
9Illinois Regional Workforce Training and Innovation Center in
10Litchfield, and for the Golden Apple Teacher Accelerators
11program at Blackburn College in Carlinville; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Senator Manar has been recognized by numerous
13organizations for his work in the Illinois Senate, including
14receiving the Dawn Clark Netsch Straight Talk Award from the
15Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, the Common Cause
16Champion of Democracy, Rural Legislator of the Year from the
17Illinois Hospital Association, the President's Award from the
18Faith Coalition for the Common Good, the Vince Demuzio
19Legislator of the Year Award from the Illinois Association of
20Community Action Agencies, and the 2019 Illinois Education
21Association Friend of Education Award and being named a 2016
22Wall of Honor inductee at Bunker Hill High School; and
 
23    WHEREAS, Senator Manar's proudest achievement is his

 

 

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1family, which includes his wife, Trista, and their three
2children, Abbie, Will, and Ben; they will continue to reside in
3Bunker Hill, three blocks from his childhood home; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The Senate's loss is certainly the Governor's
5gain, as Senator Manar will join Governor JB Pritzker's
6administration; he will no doubt remain a champion for working
7families and downstate communities; therefore, be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
9ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Senator Andy
10Manar for his years of service to the people of Illinois and
11wish him the best in his future endeavors; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13presented to Senator Manar as a symbol of our gratitude and
14esteem.