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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
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3 | Representatives are pleased to honor our esteemed former | ||||||
4 | colleague, State Representative Marlow Colvin, for his more | ||||||
5 | than 10 years as a member of the Illinois General Assembly, and | ||||||
6 | we thank him for dedicating his life to serving the people of | ||||||
7 | Chicago and Illinois; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Rep. Colvin was born in March 1964 in Chicago's | ||||||
9 | Chatham-Avalon Park neighborhood; his father was a union | ||||||
10 | carpenter and box factory worker and his mother was a hotel | ||||||
11 | elevator operator, and they both taught him the importance of | ||||||
12 | hard work, family, and community; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Rep. Colvin learned at an early age from the many | ||||||
14 | African-American leaders who came from the Chatham-Avalon Park | ||||||
15 | neighborhood, including his mentor the late John Stroger, Sr., | ||||||
16 | that a community is built on hard work, sacrifice, and giving | ||||||
17 | back; as a young man, Rep. Colvin worked to encourage other | ||||||
18 | young Americans to become active in their government, serving | ||||||
19 | as chairman of the Young Democrats of Cook County and as a | ||||||
20 | board member of the Young Democrats of Illinois and the Young | ||||||
21 | Democrats of America; Rep. Colvin has been an active member of | ||||||
22 | the 8th Ward Regular Democratic Organization for over 20 years; | ||||||
23 | and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Rep. Colvin attended St. Felicitas Elementary | ||||||
2 | School, graduated from St. Willibrord Catholic High School, and | ||||||
3 | received a degree in political science from Chicago State | ||||||
4 | University; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, After graduating college and prior to serving as | ||||||
6 | State representative, Rep. Colvin worked as an administrator | ||||||
7 | with the Office of the Cook County Assessor; as Manager of | ||||||
8 | External Review, he was in charge of research, development, and | ||||||
9 | training initiatives for the Industrial-Commercial Valuations | ||||||
10 | division of the assessor's office; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, Upon becoming State representative, Rep. Colvin | ||||||
12 | was soon recognized as one of the House's most thoughtful and | ||||||
13 | compassionate leaders, a member of a new generation of young | ||||||
14 | African Americans that included former Illinois State Senator | ||||||
15 | Barack Obama; Rep. Colvin was chosen by his colleagues to chair | ||||||
16 | the House Legislative Black Caucus from 2003 to 2008, a role he | ||||||
17 | used to bridge generational gaps and empower other young | ||||||
18 | African Americans to succeed within the civic framework of our | ||||||
19 | society; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, As a State legislator, Rep. Colvin focused on job | ||||||
21 | creation, education, and consumer protection, and viewed his | ||||||
22 | role as chairman of the House Consumer Protection Committee as |
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1 | a way to help low-income families and the working poor afford | ||||||
2 | to keep the lights and heat on in their homes, and he worked to | ||||||
3 | protect Illinois families from predatory lending and housing | ||||||
4 | discrimination; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Rep. Colvin was a strong advocate for | ||||||
6 | strengthening State incentive programs that recognize talented | ||||||
7 | African-American students, especially in the fields of | ||||||
8 | science, technology, engineering, and math, to keep them from | ||||||
9 | being recruited to other states; he was a vocal proponent of | ||||||
10 | investing in our students as a way to invest in our own | ||||||
11 | communities; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Throughout his career as State representative, | ||||||
13 | Rep. Colvin served on more than 25 House committees, including | ||||||
14 | committees on environment and energy, labor, education, and | ||||||
15 | consumer protection, and chaired the House Majority | ||||||
16 | Conference; and
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17 | WHEREAS, During his work on energy issues, Rep. Colvin | ||||||
18 | became a strong advocate for advanced energy initiatives, | ||||||
19 | recognizing that energy independence and job creation go | ||||||
20 | hand-in-hand; he spearheaded the approval of a coal-to-natural | ||||||
21 | gas power plant on Chicago's southeast side to provide jobs and | ||||||
22 | economic development for his district; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Rep. Colvin and his wife Carmen have always found | ||||||
2 | time to volunteer in their community; he has coached little | ||||||
3 | league baseball and youth basketball, been an active member of | ||||||
4 | the Southeast Chicago chapter of the Kiwanis Club, a Jackson | ||||||
5 | Park Hospital Foundation board member, and a member of the | ||||||
6 | Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Though Rep. Colvin has retired as an elected | ||||||
8 | official, he will always be remembered as a compassionate but | ||||||
9 | firm leader, an inspiration to a new generation of | ||||||
10 | African-American leaders who continue to live, work, and | ||||||
11 | volunteer in the communities in which they were raised; | ||||||
12 | therefore, be it
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13 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
14 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
15 | we thank State Representative Marlow Colvin for his service to | ||||||
16 | his community and State, and wish him continued success in all | ||||||
17 | his future endeavors; and be it further
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18 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
19 | presented to Rep. Colvin as an expression of our respect and | ||||||
20 | gratitude.
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