HR0823 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0823 LRB094 18624 HSS 53973 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that Norman Walzer, the founding director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA), is retiring; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Walzer started the organization in 1989 in response to a request from the Governor's Task Force on the Future of Rural Illinois to create a permanent agency that would address issues facing rural Illinois; and

WHEREAS, With more than 30 professional and support staff and an annual budget of $3 million, the IIRA has helped more than 300 communities with projects to improve economic conditions and quality of life; the organization has earned a Lincoln Foundation of Excellence Award and recognition from many other professional organizations and groups; it is considered a model for rural development by other states; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Walzer is a professor of economics at Western Illinois University in Macomb; while at Western, he has published more than 350 articles, reports, and monographs, including 15 books on local economic development and related issues; he has been involved in attracting more than $12 million in grants and contracts to WIU, and he has received awards from several state and national professional organizations and was named WIU Distinguished Faculty Lecturer in 1992; and

WHEREAS, He chaired Western's department of economics in the 1980s and was interim dean of the College of Business from 1993 to 1995; previously, he directed research for the Municipal Problems Commission of the Illinois General Assembly, worked with the Illinois Municipal League, and was on the staff the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois; he also served as a commissioner for the Illinois Bond Bank, on transition teams for various governors, and as president of several State and regional professional associations; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Walzer plans to remain professionally active, working with the IIRA and other agencies researching public policy issues and will continue as associate editor of the Journal of the Community Development Society; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Norman Walzer on the occasion of his retirement as director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Mr. Walzer as an expression of our esteem.