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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Yingying Zhang arrived at the University of
3Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in April of 2017 to contribute
4to research in the Department of Natural Resources and
5Environmental Sciences; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Yingying Zhang was an environmental engineering
7scholar from Nanping, a small city in the Fujian province in
8southeast China, where her parents and boyfriend lived; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In June of 2017, Yingying Zhang went missing after
10getting into a black SUV near the UIUC campus; and
 
11    WHEREAS, After an extensive investigation and search
12efforts by local, state, and federal authorities, Yingying
13Zhang was declared dead in the summer of 2017; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The loss of Zhang's life devastated the
15Champaign-Urbana community, the academic community, and the
16global community; UIUC honored Zhang's life with a number of
17vigils and rallies; and
 
18    WHEREAS, During the investigation, University of Illinois
19Police Department (UIPD) telecommunicator Kenny Costa examined
20a large amount of security video in order to trace Yingying

 

 

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1Zhang's movements before she disappeared and found video
2footage of her entering a black SUV; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The discovery of this footage was a turning point
4in the case; Kenny Costa's work led to other essential
5discoveries that helped to narrow the search for Yingying
6Zhang's murderer down to one man who is now being held
7accountable for his heinous crime; and
 
8    WHEREAS, UIPD telecommunicators have many
9responsibilities, including being the first voice you hear on
10the phone, the first face who greets you at the front desk, and
11being the person who keeps you calm in times of crisis; with
12his experience in loss prevention and customer service, Kenny
13Costa is a perfect fit for the job; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Kenny Costa was the 2015 recipient of UIPD's
15Civilian Employee of the Year Award; his expertise and
16attention to detail created a turning point in the Yingying
17Zhang investigation; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
19HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
20without Kenny Costa's work to trace Yingying Zhang throughout
21the UIUC campus the day she disappeared, it is likely this case
22could have gone unsolved; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That due to Kenny Costa's work, Yingying Zhang's
2family at least has the comfort of knowing who was responsible
3for her devastating murder, and we send our deepest sympathies
4and condolences to the Zhang family; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That we commend Kenny Costa for his exemplary
6work in the murder case of Yingying Zhang and for his service
7to Champaign County and the entire state of Illinois.