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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 recognize the installation of | ||||||
| 4 | Judge Jessica Arong O'Brien as the 101st President of the | ||||||
| 5 | Women's Bar Association of Illinois; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Jessica Arong O'Brien was born and raised in Cebu | ||||||
| 7 | City, Philippines; she immigrated to the United States after | ||||||
| 8 | graduating from high school; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Jessica Arong O'Brien attended Boston University, | ||||||
| 10 | where she obtained her degree in Hotel and Food Administration | ||||||
| 11 | and a minor in Financial Management; she furthered her culinary | ||||||
| 12 | arts education at Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland | ||||||
| 13 | and received her Intensive Diploma from Le Cordon Bleu in | ||||||
| 14 | London; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Jessica Arong O'Brien is a distinguished alumna of | ||||||
| 16 | the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, becoming the first | ||||||
| 17 | student to earn both a Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in | ||||||
| 18 | Taxation in just 3 years in 1998; she earned a second Master of | ||||||
| 19 | Laws degree in employee benefits in 2002; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Jessica Arong O'Brien has distinguished herself | ||||||
| 21 | as a leader in the profession and the community by serving as | ||||||
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| 1 | the first Asian-American on the Illinois State Bar | ||||||
| 2 | Association's Board of Governors and as a Trustee of the John | ||||||
| 3 | Marshall Law School; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Jessica Arong O'Brien has served as the president | ||||||
| 5 | of the Filipino American Bar Association; she also cofounded | ||||||
| 6 | the Diversity Scholarship Foundation with other judges and | ||||||
| 7 | lawyers, serving as the Foundation's president for 6 years; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Jessica Arong O'Brien has received several awards | ||||||
| 9 | for her volunteer efforts, including the 2014 Advocate for | ||||||
| 10 | Diversity award, the 2013 Unity Award from the Diversity | ||||||
| 11 | Scholarship Foundation, the 2012 Asian American Bar | ||||||
| 12 | Association of Greater Chicago's Judge Sandra R. Otaka | ||||||
| 13 | Leadership Award, and the 2012 Barack Obama Call to Service | ||||||
| 14 | Award; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Jessica Arong O'Brien has served honorably since | ||||||
| 16 | her swearing-in on December 3, 2012 as a Judge in the non-jury | ||||||
| 17 | Civil Division of the First Municipal Court of Cook County, | ||||||
| 18 | making her the first Filipino elected judge in the State of | ||||||
| 19 | Illinois; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Jessica Arong O'Brien will be sworn in as the | ||||||
| 21 | Women's Bar Association of Illinois President at its Annual | ||||||
| 22 | Installation Dinner on June 4, 2015; this year's theme is | ||||||
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| 1 | "Leave No Woman Behind"; therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 3 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 4 | recognize and congratulate Judge Jessica Arong O'Brien on the | ||||||
| 5 | occasion of her installation as President of the Women's Bar | ||||||
| 6 | Association of Illinois and wish her all the best as she | ||||||
| 7 | assumes the position; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to Judge Jessica Arong O'Brien as an expression of | ||||||
| 10 | our esteem and respect.
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