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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 John W. Wilson on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of his retirement as Director of the Lan-Oak Park | ||||||
| 5 | District; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, John Wilson's very first job was as a golf caddie | ||||||
| 7 | at Danville Country Club at the age of ten; he thoroughly | ||||||
| 8 | enjoyed the parks and recreation field at an early age; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, John Wilson attended Illinois State University, | ||||||
| 10 | majoring in Recreation and Park Administration; soon after | ||||||
| 11 | graduation, he took a job as a Recreation Planner at the | ||||||
| 12 | Danville Park District; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, John Wilson was employed as Director of Parks and | ||||||
| 14 | Recreation at Chicago Ridge Park District and Grayslake Park | ||||||
| 15 | District; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, During John Wilson's tenure, he received the | ||||||
| 17 | President's Award in 1985 while at Chicago Ridge; he also | ||||||
| 18 | initiated Grayslake's first ever park development program; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, John Wilson continued his work until he was called | ||||||
| 20 | to serve as Superintendent of the LaGrange Park District for | ||||||
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| 1 | two years; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, John Wilson was one of the founding fathers of the | ||||||
| 3 | Southwest Special Recreation Association; and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, During his parks and recreation career, John | ||||||
| 5 | Wilson received grants for more than $26 million in park | ||||||
| 6 | improvements; he was also awarded DePaul University's Chaddick | ||||||
| 7 | Institute Award for Metropolitan Development; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, John Wilson ended his career with 17 years as | ||||||
| 9 | Director of Parks and Recreation at Lan-Oak Park District in | ||||||
| 10 | Lansing; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, While serving as Director of Parks and Recreation | ||||||
| 12 | at Lan-Oak Park District, John Wilson renovated the Eisenhower | ||||||
| 13 | Recreation and Fitness Center and spearheaded the Pennsey | ||||||
| 14 | Greenway bike path running from Calumet City to Indiana; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, John Wilson negotiated land donations from | ||||||
| 16 | developers exceeding $6 million for new parks and acquisition | ||||||
| 17 | of a private swimming pool funding by the Illinois Build | ||||||
| 18 | Program; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, John Wilson is an active member of the Illinois | ||||||
| 20 | Parks and Recreation Foundation Board, the South Suburban Park | ||||||
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| 1 | and Recreation Professional Association, the Save a Life | ||||||
| 2 | Foundation, the PADS Homeless Shelter, the Parks and Recreation | ||||||
| 3 | Advisory Commission, the Chicago Southland Convention and | ||||||
| 4 | Visitors Bureau's Sports Commission, and many others; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, John Wilson retired from public service in April | ||||||
| 6 | of 2016 after more than 30 years of service; therefore, be it
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| 7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 8 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 9 | congratulate Director John W. Wilson on the occasion of his | ||||||
| 10 | retirement and thank him for his years of dedication and | ||||||
| 11 | service to the communities he has helped throughout his career; | ||||||
| 12 | and be it further
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| 13 | RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to | ||||||
| 14 | the John Wilson as a token of our respect.
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