HR1359 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1359 LRB097 23706 MST 72781 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize our former colleague, State Representative Kevin McCarthy, and thank him for his many years of service to the people of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy won his first election for State representative of the southwest suburban 37th District in 1996 by less than 900 votes in a hard-fought campaign; and

WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy received his bachelor's degree from Chicago State University and a master's degree from DePaul University; he began his career as a school teacher and later went into the school supply business; and

WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy prided himself on being a full-time lawmaker who remained accessible to his constituents and fought for their needs and concerns to improve local communities and the southland; and

WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy spent his time in public service fighting to improve local schools, make higher education more affordable, lower taxes for homeowners, and assist the growing senior citizen population; and

WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy succeeded in increasing state funding for local schools and fought to pass an education tax credit for parents with children in private and parochial schools; and

WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy led efforts to increase education standards, fought to invest in early childhood education, and advocated for lower class sizes so our children have the competitive advantage needed to succeed; and

WHEREAS, As the chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, Representative McCarthy consistently supported ways to make higher education more accessible and affordable for students, including greater funding for Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants to help students in financial need pay for college; he sponsored legislation creating the MAP Plus program to provide financial assistance to college students who do not qualify for other assistance programs; and

WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy often took up challenging and unpopular issues because he believed them to be in the best interests of the State; he passed landmark pension reforms to help end abuses and to help begin efforts to create long-term stability of the pension system; and

WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy kept a promise to be a strong advocate for taxpayers by fighting to increase homestead exemptions and other property tax assistance programs for all homeowners, especially senior citizens and veterans; and

WHEREAS, Representative McCarthy owes much to the support of his loving family, including his wife, Judy, and their 2 children, Amy and Kevin John, as well as his longtime friend and office manager, Sue McGahan; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate and thank State Representative Kevin McCarthy for his years of dedicated service; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Representative Kevin McCarthy as an expression of our respect and esteem and with our best wishes for his future success.