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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, In 1988, Illinois' Bonnie Blair won a gold medal | ||||||
| 3 | in the 500-meter speed skating event held at the Winter | ||||||
| 4 | Olympics in Calgary, a great concrete wall snaked through the | ||||||
| 5 | heart of Berlin, The Cosby Show and Roseanne were the | ||||||
| 6 | highest-rated shows on U.S. television, and Ronald Reagan was | ||||||
| 7 | the President of the United States; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, In that same year, Elizabeth "Liz" Laird started | ||||||
| 9 | her career with the Illinois General Assembly as a legislative | ||||||
| 10 | page; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Choosing for mysterious and unfathomable reasons | ||||||
| 12 | to continue in General Assembly life as a career, Elizabeth | ||||||
| 13 | Laird worked as a legislative secretary for several House | ||||||
| 14 | Republican members who themselves had illustrious careers, | ||||||
| 15 | including then-State Representative Lolita Didrickson, who | ||||||
| 16 | became the elected Comptroller of Illinois; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Laird was asked by House Republican | ||||||
| 18 | Chief of Staff Mike Stokke to become his secretary and | ||||||
| 19 | executive assistant, and since that time, for over two | ||||||
| 20 | decades, she has been the operational manager for nine House | ||||||
| 21 | Republican Chiefs of Staff; and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Laird has seen six governors of | ||||||
| 2 | Illinois come and go, all while continuing to operate and | ||||||
| 3 | guard the southwest corner of the third floor of the State | ||||||
| 4 | Capitol in Springfield; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Laird has seen Illinois through a time | ||||||
| 6 | of tumult and change, during which the State has endured the | ||||||
| 7 | impeachment of a governor, a multi-year budget crisis, and the | ||||||
| 8 | elevation of one of its lawmakers to the office of President of | ||||||
| 9 | the United States; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, During these times, Elizabeth Laird's calm | ||||||
| 11 | determination and unfailing courtesy have helped keep things | ||||||
| 12 | going for everyone around her; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, In a culmination of plans that she has had for a | ||||||
| 14 | long time, Elizabeth Laird will now leave the service of the | ||||||
| 15 | Illinois General Assembly to rejoin her family, who are | ||||||
| 16 | congregating in a place far away from Springfield; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Laird's colleagues are so grateful for | ||||||
| 18 | her service that they have determined to take the risk of | ||||||
| 19 | thoroughly embarrassing her by voicing and adopting this | ||||||
| 20 | tribute; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Laird should be assured that despite | ||||||
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| 1 | the words of this tribute, she has already protected herself | ||||||
| 2 | against the danger of getting a swelled head; in response to | ||||||
| 3 | this possibility, she plans to move to Flathead country in the | ||||||
| 4 | northwest part of the Big Sky State of Montana, where the birds | ||||||
| 5 | sing, the buffalo roam, and the mountains look down from | ||||||
| 6 | above; therefore, be it
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| 7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 8 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 9 | we congratulate Elizabeth "Liz" Laird, Executive Assistant to | ||||||
| 10 | the House Republican Chief of Staff, upon her retirement; and | ||||||
| 11 | be it further | ||||||
| 12 | RESOLVED, That we ask her to talk up Illinois among her | ||||||
| 13 | future neighbors, as she leaves us with the same good wishes as | ||||||
| 14 | we heartily extend to her; and be it further
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| 15 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 16 | presented to Elizabeth Laird as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
| 17 | esteem.
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