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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 J.D.
Flood on the occasion | ||||||
| 4 | of his retirement and thank him for his many years of service | ||||||
| 5 | to
the Grundy County community; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, On October 2, 2015, J.D. Flood will officially | ||||||
| 7 | retire from his position as Grundy County
Public Defender, a | ||||||
| 8 | job he has held for more than 30 years; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, J.D. Flood was named public defender in April of | ||||||
| 10 | 1985; during those years of service,
he has made a positive | ||||||
| 11 | difference to the
people he has represented; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Public defender was not the first role J.D. Flood | ||||||
| 13 | held in the Grundy County court
system; he started out at the | ||||||
| 14 | opposing table as a member of the State's Attorney's office for | ||||||
| 15 | 3
and a half years in the late 1970s; and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, In 1980, J.D. Flood decided to leave the State's | ||||||
| 17 | Attorney's office and join the law firm of Hynds
and Rooks; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, J.D. Flood started to envision what he wanted to | ||||||
| 19 | do with his career and considered himself
much more the lone | ||||||
| 20 | wolf than a firm lawyer; he decided to start his own law
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| 1 | office, which he opened in July of 1983; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, After opening his own law office, J.D. Flood was | ||||||
| 3 | offered and accepted the position of Grundy County Public | ||||||
| 4 | Defender, then a part-time job that involved working only one | ||||||
| 5 | morning a week as there were not many people in the
court | ||||||
| 6 | system in need of a public defender; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, As the years passed, the role grew, and after a | ||||||
| 8 | decade in the office, J.D. Flood
found himself working | ||||||
| 9 | full-time, defending more than 300 felony charges a year; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, J.D. Flood is retiring the same day he turns 64, | ||||||
| 11 | but he doesn't plan to leave the
courthouse completely; he will | ||||||
| 12 | stay on to help with the drug court, a specialty court he | ||||||
| 13 | helped create; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, The Grundy County Drug Court started late in 2007 | ||||||
| 15 | with the purpose of helping
offenders return to the community | ||||||
| 16 | as productive members; J.D. Flood considers this initiative
one | ||||||
| 17 | of his proudest involvements; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, J.D. Flood is a true believer and a moving force | ||||||
| 19 | in making the drug court work; his
heart is always in it and he | ||||||
| 20 | has invested himself in helping participants turn themselves | ||||||
| 21 | around; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, It will be nearly impossible to replace J.D. | ||||||
| 2 | Flood; he always has compassion for
the clients as well as the | ||||||
| 3 | victims; he serves as an example of a hardworking, passionate,
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| 4 | and dedicated member of the Grundy community; therefore, be it
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| 5 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 6 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 7 | thank J.D. Flood for his many
years of service, congratulate | ||||||
| 8 | him on the occasion of his retirement, and wish him all the | ||||||
| 9 | best in
his future endeavors; and be it further
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| 10 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 11 | presented to J.D. Flood as an expression
of our congratulations | ||||||
| 12 | and appreciation for a job well done.
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