SR2509 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR2509 LRB099 24301 MST 52047 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of former Illinois State Representative Vincent A. "Vince" Persico, who passed away on July 21, 2016; and

WHEREAS, Representative Persico was born on December 9, 1948 in Oak Park; he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in 1971 and a master's degree from Northern Illinois University in 1986; and

WHEREAS, Representative Persico instructed young people in history and government as a Hadley Junior High School teacher for many years until 1988; and

WHEREAS, Representative Persico was an involved member of the Glen Ellyn community; he was a member of the Kiwanis Club, the Glenbard West Booster Club, the Hadley Junior High School PTA, and many other clubs and groups, and was active in Glen Ellyn boys baseball leagues; and

WHEREAS, Representative Persico began his life of public service by joining the boards of directors of Glen Ellyn Family Services and the Milton Township Committee on Youth; he also became a Trustee for Milton Township, which in the 1980s was a fast-growing township that was enjoying many challenges and opportunities; and

WHEREAS, Representative Persico chose to run for election to the Illinois House of Representatives; he sought the seat and lost twice, in 1986 and in 1988, before winning unanimous election to the House in November of 1990 without general-election opposition; in January of 1991, he took his seat in the Illinois House of Representatives, where he would serve for 11 years; and

WHEREAS, As a member of the Republican Party, Representative Persico quickly showed an aptitude for bipartisan committee work, serving with colleagues from both parties on the House Committees on Aging, Environment and Energy, Financial Institutions, and Labor; when he began his service in the Illinois General Assembly, the State laws governing relations between Illinois residents and regulated utilities had become suboptimal, especially in the areas of electricity and telecommunications; and

WHEREAS, As a key member of the House Telecommunications Rewrite Committee, Representative Persico helped to rewrite the Illinois Telecommunications Law; he played a major role in opening up Illinois telecommunications services to consumer-friendly competition and in moving the law from a paradigm based on wireline telecommunications toward the wireless services of the future; the cell phone shops and advertisements that have become ubiquitous features of Illinois life are a tribute to the success of his work; and

WHEREAS, As the selected co-chairperson of the Electric Utility Deregulation Committee, Representative Persico played a major role in deregulating supplies of Illinois electricity; one of the most significant legislative achievements was the Illinois Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997; developed with the help of chosen colleagues, the law restructured the customer side of the Illinois electric utility industry to offer Illinois customers a choice between electric suppliers while retaining the right of owners of the "last mile" of electric delivery wire to earn a fair return on their investments; and

WHEREAS, In January of 2002, Representative Persico retired from the Illinois House of Representatives to join the private sector; in the private sector, he remained a familiar figure in the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, educating lawmakers on a wide variety of issues; and

WHEREAS, In late 2015, Representative Persico was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer; during his final months of life, he and his wife, Donna, set an example of courage and fortitude for the members of the Illinois House of Representatives, including his former colleagues; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we pay tribute to the memory of former Illinois State Representative Vincent A. "Vince" Persico and his life of courage, hard work, and public service; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we express our appreciation for the support given to Representative Persico by his wife, Donna, and his son, Derek Persico, House Republican Senior Legal Counselor and District Office Director in the office of House Republican Leader Jim Durkin; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the family of Representative Persico as a symbol of our sympathy and appreciation for his service to the State of Illinois.