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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Representative Tom Cross | ||||||
4 | of Oswego on his distinguished service to the people of the | ||||||
5 | State of Illinois; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross has been a member of the | ||||||
7 | Illinois House of Representatives since 1993 and has served | ||||||
8 | this body with honor and distinction; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross was born on July 31, 1958 in | ||||||
10 | Nashville, Tennessee; he grew up in the West Pullman | ||||||
11 | neighborhood of Chicago before his family moved to Yorkville in | ||||||
12 | Kendall County, where he graduated with Yorkville High School's | ||||||
13 | Class of 1976; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross earned a Bachelor of Arts in | ||||||
15 | Political Science from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1980 and | ||||||
16 | a Juris Doctor from Samford University's Cumberland School of | ||||||
17 | Law in 1983; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross married the former Genie | ||||||
19 | Hovater in 1983, and through more than 31 years of marriage, | ||||||
20 | have celebrated the births of 2 children, daughter, Reynolds | ||||||
21 | and son, Hudson; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross was inspired to pursue a life | ||||||
2 | of public service by his father, the Rev. Thomas Cross, Jr. and | ||||||
3 | his mother, Ruth Cross, a public school teacher and principal; | ||||||
4 | and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross was admitted to the Illinois | ||||||
6 | Bar in 1983 and served as a prosecutor with the Kendall County | ||||||
7 | State's Attorney's Office from 1984 to 1992; and | ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross was first elected to the | ||||||
9 | Illinois House of Representatives in 1992, rising to Assistant | ||||||
10 | Republican Leader in 1999 before being elected by his caucus as | ||||||
11 | House Republican Leader in 2002, a position he served in until | ||||||
12 | September of 2013; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, As a member of the General Assembly, | ||||||
14 | Representative Tom Cross was the sponsor of new laws that | ||||||
15 | cracked down on fraud and abuse of the State's pension system; | ||||||
16 | and
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17 | WHEREAS, As House Republican Leader, Representative Cross | ||||||
18 | fought for budgetary honesty; he was a leading voice within the | ||||||
19 | General Assembly in opposition to the pseudo-accounting | ||||||
20 | tactics and fund sweeps used to repeatedly violate the | ||||||
21 | constitutional requirement that the State balance its |
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1 | operating budget; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross has been noted for his | ||||||
3 | leadership on key children's health and safety initiatives, | ||||||
4 | including enhanced research for juvenile diabetes, new | ||||||
5 | safeguards to protect youth football players from concussions, | ||||||
6 | and stronger reporting and monitoring requirements for child | ||||||
7 | sex offenders; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross serves on the Board of | ||||||
9 | Directors of the Illinois Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes | ||||||
10 | Research Foundation; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross is a partner with the firm of | ||||||
12 | Mahoney, Silverman, and Cross in Joliet; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Representative Cross has been honored by scores of | ||||||
14 | organizations over the years in recognition of his outstanding | ||||||
15 | service in the General Assembly, including the Illinois State's | ||||||
16 | Attorneys Association, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of | ||||||
17 | Police, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Farm | ||||||
18 | Bureau, and the Illinois Health Care Association, among many | ||||||
19 | others; therefore, be it
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20 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
21 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
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1 | we congratulate Representative Tom Cross on his outstanding | ||||||
2 | service as a member of the General Assembly and as House | ||||||
3 | Republican Leader from 2003 from 2013, and we wish him the best | ||||||
4 | in all his future endeavors; and be it further
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5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
6 | presented to Representative Cross and his family as an | ||||||
7 | expression of our esteem and respect for our colleague and | ||||||
8 | friend.
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