SR0929 LRB094 22257 RCE 60956 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, In 1987 Linda Hawker was appointed Secretary of
3 the Illinois Senate, the first woman to hold the post in the
4 Illinois General Assembly; and
 
5     WHEREAS, As we honor Linda Hawker today, we stand in the
6 newly renovated and restored Senate Chamber that, as Co-Chair
7 of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol board, she was
8 deeply involved in the details of the renovation and
9 instrumental in seeing this project through to completion; and
 
10     WHEREAS, From 1971 to 1980, she worked for the Senate
11 Democrat Leadership staff under former Senate Presidents Cecil
12 Partee, Thomas Hynes and Philip Rock; and then as a Public
13 Affairs Associate at Sangamon State University (now the
14 University of Illinois at Springfield) where she received her
15 Bachelor's Degree in Political Science; and
 
16     WHEREAS, She then returned to staff as a special assistant
17 to former Senate President Philip J. Rock who in 1987 provided
18 her the opportunity to serve as the first woman in the post of
19 Secretary of the Illinois Senate; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. further
21 entrusted her with the responsibility of that position when he
22 was elected Senate Democratic Leader in 1993; and
 
23     WHEREAS, While Linda Hawker has accomplished many things
24 during her twenty years serving both as Secretary and as
25 Assistant Secretary, she has made it her priority to ensure
26 that the proceedings of the Illinois Senate are fully
27 transparent and easily accessible to the public, just one
28 example of her commitment and integrity; and
 
29     WHEREAS, Linda has worked closely with Senate President

 

 

SR0929 - 2 - LRB094 22257 RCE 60956 r

1 Emil Jones, Jr. on his efforts to make the Senate proceedings
2 available on the Internet, and with his support worked with
3 internal technology experts to develop a state of the art
4 voting system that has improved efficiency as well as being
5 adaptable to our changing environment; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Secretary Hawker has also coordinated efforts to
7 automate the Journal Room functions including the integration
8 of Bill Status, filing of legislative measures, Daily Calendar,
9 Daily Journal, and committee hearing notices, leading to
10 greater accuracy; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Linda has ably managed numerous budgets in her job
12 as Secretary of the Senate and her knowledge and skills in
13 parliamentary procedure are highly regarded and respected; and
 
14     WHEREAS, As Secretary of the Illinois Senate, Linda has
15 also been extremely active in the American Society of
16 Legislative Clerks and Secretaries, serving as committee chair
17 and vice chair, as well as submitting articles to the
18 Legislative Administrator and the Professional Journal,
19 hosting professional development seminars, and working on the
20 host committee of the 2000 NCSL annual conference held in
21 Chicago; for her many efforts she was awarded the National
22 Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Staff Achievement
23 Award of 2006; and
 
24     WHEREAS Linda Hawker is committed to the Springfield
25 community where she grew up, serving on numerous boards and
26 committees, including the Springfield Urban League, the Center
27 for the Study of Middle-Sized Cities, the Springfield Energy
28 Project, the Committee to Study the Honesty and Integrity of
29 Springfield Elections, the Springfield Election Commission,
30 the UIS Alumni Council, Sister Cities International, and
31 Illinois Democratic Women; she is a founding member of Illinois
32 Women in Government and the Illinois Women's Institute for

 

 

SR0929 - 3 - LRB094 22257 RCE 60956 r

1 Leadership; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Linda has been blessed in her professional life
3 but profoundly blessed in her personal life as mother to
4 Brittany, mother-by-marriage to Michelle, Tim and Molly and
5 grandmother to Maureen and Gracie; and
 
6     WHEREAS, It is with high esteem and great affection that we
7 wish Linda Hawker the very best that the future has to offer;
8 therefore, be it
 
9     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL
10 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Linda
11 Hawker on her more than 35 years of service to the people of
12 Illinois and to the Illinois Senate; and be it further
 
13     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14 presented to Linda Hawker as a token of our thanks for her many
15 efforts on behalf of the members of this body and the citizens
16 of the State of Illinois.