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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are pleased to honor our friend and colleague, | ||||||
4 | Illinois State Representative Renée Kosel, for her years of | ||||||
5 | dedicated service to the people of the State of Illinois; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel earned her bachelor's degree | ||||||
7 | in education from Western Illinois University; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel enjoyed a career as a school | ||||||
9 | teacher in both Chicago and New Lenox, where she gained a keen | ||||||
10 | understanding of the Illinois education system and the need for | ||||||
11 | improvement; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel and her husband, Dr. Alfred | ||||||
13 | Kosel, are long-time residents of New Lenox and have 3 | ||||||
14 | children, Janine Valkema, Christopher, and Eric; she and her | ||||||
15 | husband have been blessed with 9 grandchildren; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel has been an active member of | ||||||
17 | her community working towards its betterment, having served on | ||||||
18 | the Lincoln-Way Central High School Board of Education and | ||||||
19 | served on the Lincoln-Way Foundation for Educational | ||||||
20 | Excellence Board of Directors; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel and her husband are members | ||||||
2 | of Trinity Lutheran Church in New Lenox, and she is a member of | ||||||
3 | the New Lenox Rotary Club; she currently serves with the | ||||||
4 | Advocate Christ Medical Center Cancer Institute Foundation | ||||||
5 | Board, the Alliance of the Illinois State Dental Society, and | ||||||
6 | the Illinois State Rifle Association; she is also a past member | ||||||
7 | of the Frankfort, Homer Township, Mokena, and New Lenox | ||||||
8 | Chambers of Commerce, and is a current member of the Mokena | ||||||
9 | Woman's Club; additionally, she serves as a member of Advocate | ||||||
10 | Christ Medical Center Governing Council, serving as Chair from | ||||||
11 | 2007 to 2009 and currently serving as Vice-Chair; she also | ||||||
12 | serves as a Scholarship America Advisory Board member; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel was first elected to serve as | ||||||
14 | State Representative on November 5, 1996, taking office in | ||||||
15 | January of 1997; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel served as Assistant | ||||||
17 | Republican Leader during her tenure, bringing the voice of her | ||||||
18 | legislative district to the forefront of important issues; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel honorably represented the | ||||||
20 | people of New Lenox, Mokena, Tinley Park, Frankfort, Homer | ||||||
21 | Glen, Joliet, Lockport, and Orland Park; and | ||||||
22 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel served with distinction on |
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1 | many committees, caucuses, and task forces, including Tollway | ||||||
2 | Oversight, Health Care Licenses, International Trade & | ||||||
3 | Commerce, and Executive Committees, and as Republican | ||||||
4 | Spokesperson for the Museums, Arts, & Cultural Enhancement | ||||||
5 | Committee; she was a member of the Illinois Historic | ||||||
6 | Preservation Caucus, the Local Government Caucus, the | ||||||
7 | Environmental Legislative Caucus, the Fire Prevention Caucus, | ||||||
8 | the Manufacturing Caucus, the Education Caucus, the Illinois | ||||||
9 | House Special Committee on the Illinois State Toll Highway | ||||||
10 | Authority, the Tax Relief Task Force, the Gambling Reform Task | ||||||
11 | Force, the Education Task Force, the Project Success Oversight | ||||||
12 | Committee, the Teacher Health Insurance Funding Task Force, the | ||||||
13 | Jobs Creation Task Force, the Oral Health Summit Steering | ||||||
14 | Committee, the Illinois-Liaoning (China) Sister State | ||||||
15 | Committee, the House Republican Education Working Group, and | ||||||
16 | the American Legislative Exchange Council Public Safety and | ||||||
17 | Elections Task Force; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, During much of the 2000 to 2010 decade, | ||||||
19 | Representative Kosel's district was one of the fastest-growing | ||||||
20 | suburban areas in the United States, leading to major | ||||||
21 | challenges for her and her office; she rose to the occasion and | ||||||
22 | successfully met the needs of a rapidly-growing constituency; | ||||||
23 | and | ||||||
24 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel always put the wishes of her |
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1 | legislative district first by being a fierce advocate for | ||||||
2 | fiscal responsibility, consistently voting to balance the | ||||||
3 | State budget and hold the line on taxes to protect the citizens | ||||||
4 | of Illinois; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel has received many awards | ||||||
6 | during her years in office, including the American Legislative | ||||||
7 | Exchange Council Legislator of the Year in 2008, the ARC of | ||||||
8 | Illinois Legislator of the Year, the Illinois Home Health Care | ||||||
9 | Council Legislator of the Year, the Advocates United Legislator | ||||||
10 | of the Year in 1999 and 2003, the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce | ||||||
11 | Legislator of the Year, the Illinois Farm Bureau's Friend of | ||||||
12 | Agriculture in 2002, 2006, and 2010, the Employment Law | ||||||
13 | Council's Job Defenders Award, the South Suburban Park & | ||||||
14 | Recreation Professional Association's Legislator of the Year | ||||||
15 | in 2002, the Illinois Association for Career and Technical | ||||||
16 | Education 2005 Friend of Career and Technical Education, and | ||||||
17 | both the Illinois Chamber of Commerce's Champion of Free | ||||||
18 | Enterprise Award and Champion of Small Business Award; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel has worked tirelessly for | ||||||
20 | the residents of her legislative district, sponsoring key | ||||||
21 | pieces of legislation during her tenure, including a tax rebate | ||||||
22 | for homeowners, expanding the Circuit Breaker Program, the | ||||||
23 | "Bill of Rights" for property owners, and a waiting list bill | ||||||
24 | for the disabled; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Representative Kosel has always placed education | ||||||
2 | as her highest legislative priority; she fought for increased | ||||||
3 | funding for our local schools and sponsored initiatives to | ||||||
4 | improve school safety and reduce classroom sizes; she sponsored | ||||||
5 | legislation to reform School Superintendents' retirement plans | ||||||
6 | and was instrumental in enacting the School Construction | ||||||
7 | Program; and
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8 | WHEREAS, During her 18 years in the Illinois House of | ||||||
9 | Representatives, Representative Kosel served as the Chief | ||||||
10 | Sponsor and Co-Sponsor on countless bills that have improved | ||||||
11 | the lives of those living within her legislative district and | ||||||
12 | the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
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13 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
14 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
15 | we honor our friend and colleague Illinois State Representative | ||||||
16 | Renée Kosel for her years of dedicated service to the people of | ||||||
17 | this great State and wish her great success and happiness in | ||||||
18 | her future endeavors; and be it further
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19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
20 | presented to Representative Kosel and her family as a symbol of | ||||||
21 | our esteem, respect, and gratitude.
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