HR1339 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1339 LRB099 22265 GRL 49660 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to honor our friend and colleague, Illinois State Representative John D. Anthony, for his service to the people of the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Representative John Anthony was born and raised in Chicago and is a native of Illinois; he earned a bachelor's degree at Christian Bible College and Seminary in Independence, Missouri; and

WHEREAS, With an eye toward front-line public safety, Representative John Anthony became a law enforcement officer in the Champaign Police Department in 2005; in 2008, he became a deputy in the Kendall County Sheriff's Office; during his time in those departments, he was mentioned numerous times in news accounts and sheriff's records for examples of fearless public service in circumstances of threatened, actual, and even imminent personal danger; and

WHEREAS, As a Deputy Sheriff, Representative John Anthony received the Ervin H. Warren "Cop of the Future" award for community leadership; as a figure of growing importance in his communities, he made friends throughout his district and was appointed to serve as State Representative, representing the 75th District in north-central Illinois, in August of 2013; and

WHEREAS, Upon taking office in the 98th General Assembly, Representative John Anthony became the first African-American member of the Illinois House Republican Caucus to serve since 1983; and

WHEREAS, Upon taking office, Representative John Anthony became the first State Representative of Puerto Rican heritage to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, Complex challenges faced by the 75th District in Representative John Anthony's time of legislative leadership have centered on its status as an area that is partly inside and partly outside the greater Chicago metropolitan area during the current period of economic life that began in 2008-2009, with a large number of young families, growing schools, transportation frustrations, and the overall atmosphere of life in a world of half-built subdivisions; during this period, Representative Anthony stood steadfast in his determination for policies that would restore economic growth to Illinois and job opportunities to his constituents; and

WHEREAS, In 2014, Representative John Anthony accepted an invitation to join the Edgar Fellows Program, a leadership program overseen by the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois as a focal point for the nurturance and continued training of current and future leaders of this State; and

WHEREAS, Utilizing his personal experience in law enforcement, Representative John Anthony concentrated his lawmaking work on questions of public safety and law enforcement, working tirelessly to make Illinois a safer place to live and raise a family; and

WHEREAS, The commitment of Representative John Anthony and his wife, Deborah, to Illinois families is shown by their founding leadership of the YARN Foundation, an education and scholarship program for potentially challenged young Illinoisans; and

WHEREAS, As a further demonstration of his commitment to family-oriented law enforcement, Representative John Anthony became the chief House Republican co-sponsor of the bipartisan House Bill 1, a path breaking 2015 measure to fight against the growing scourge of heroin addiction and addictions to other opiate chemicals, including chemicals found in prescription medications, which has since been closely examined by many other states; House Bill 1 became law as Public Act 99-480; and

WHEREAS, In one key feature of House Bill 1, police officers and other first responders have been given the right to carry and immediately administer Naloxone to persons in imminent danger of death from an opiate overdose; this feature of the law reflects Representative John Anthony's own experience as a street police officer and his confidence that Illinois' finest men and women will have the strength of purpose to use this power wisely; other features of House Bill 1 overseen by Representative Anthony as lawmaking chief co-sponsor include a prescription drug drop-off program, expanded availability of drug courts in district courtrooms throughout Illinois, and improved data collection on heroin and other drug offenses; and

WHEREAS, After serving in the Illinois House of Representatives from August of 2013 until June of 2016, Representative John Anthony has decided that it is time for him to move on to new challenges in public safety; and

WHEREAS, Although the people of the 75th District will miss Representative Anthony's courage and leadership, he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Deborah, and their children, Jada, John, Kirsten, and Kylie; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we honor and thank our friend and colleague, Illinois State Representative John D. Anthony, for his service to the people of the State of Illinois and wish him both new challenges and more time with those close to him in his new life with the Illinois Department of Corrections; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we congratulate Representative John Anthony for his ability to work with lawmakers of both political parties; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Representative John D. Anthony and his family.