SR1389 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1389 LRB102 30197 ECR 42556 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Students, families, and seniors in the 56th Senate District are among the many fortunate beneficiaries of State Senator Rachelle Crowe's years of service in the Illinois Senate; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe demonstrated a profound interest in helping young people seize available opportunities and reach their full potential through education and hard work; and

WHEREAS, Because Sen. Crowe wholeheartedly believes law enforcement officers deserve the utmost respect for protecting our communities, she partnered with police groups to advance laws to support them and their families; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe passed laws to fund bikeway, road, and bridge projects as well as vertical infrastructure throughout the Metro East, including a plan to renovate Lewis and Clark Community College's Main Complex to permit operations to continue safely at the 1890 facility; and

WHEREAS, Using her experience as a violent crimes prosecutor, Sen. Crowe has been a champion for victims, crime survivors, and their families by advancing numerous laws to strengthen protections, enhance penalties, secure justice, and reduce the DNA backlog; and

WHEREAS, As an advocate for education, Sen. Crowe supported initiatives to raise teacher salaries, address the teacher shortage, and increase the tax credit for educators who purchase school supplies for their classrooms; and

WHEREAS, When the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the daily lives of her constituency, Sen. Crowe worked to connect families with unemployment benefits, to offer support to school districts to implement e-learning, to uplift health care workers and other frontline employees; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe helped secure millions of dollars to support small business owners, employees, and operations following closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, As a friend to veterans, Sen. Crowe hosted breakfast events, organized card drives, advocated for automatic property tax relief, and worked to provide resources to support happy, healthy lives after service; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe led the state effort to strengthen protections for seniors, to deny inheritance to abusers, and to update practices through her work as chair of the Elder Abuse Task Force; and

WHEREAS, With strong family roots in the trades, Sen. Crowe voted against local right-to-work laws, toured several facilities, partnered with the aviation repair industry to save jobs, and advocated for use of Illinois-made products such as steel; and

WHEREAS, Because Sen. Crowe believes education and workforce training programs should be within reach for all, she advanced laws to create scholarship opportunities, to support adult literacy programs, and more; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe believes that literacy is a fundamental skill and that creativity aids in innovative development, so she partnered with local libraries to host an annual summer book club event and other art contests for students throughout the district; and

WHEREAS, To provide resources for the Metro East community, Sen. Crowe organized food, clothing, and toy drives, hosted meal giveaways, provided shred equipment, and coordinated blood drives in honor of local first responders; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe is a champion for women's health and supported monumental changes so that life-saving procedures would be covered by state insurance companies; and

WHEREAS, To improve outcomes for youth, Sen. Crowe passed laws to support mothers who need donated breast milk for their sick infants and also worked with a constituent to require insurance companies to provide heart and lung monitors for children; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe was the first woman in Illinois history to lead the Senate Judiciary Committee as chair; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe bids farewell to the Illinois Senate after three years of service to the 56th Senate District and the people of Illinois, during which she established a reputation as a knowledgeable, pragmatic, and committed public servant; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe's public service began when she was an assistant state's attorney in the Madison County State's Attorney's Office; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe's family has roots in the Illinois Metro East, and they instilled in her a deep respect and appreciation for teachers, education, and hard work; and

WHEREAS, Sen. Crowe was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Senator Rachelle Crowe for her dedicated service to the people of Illinois and her significant contributions to the State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Sen. Crowe as a symbol of our gratitude with our best wishes for her future endeavors.