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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Eric T. Ruud on the
4 occasion of his retirement as First Assistant State's Attorney
5 in the McLean County State's Attorneys Office in Bloomington;
6 and
 
7     WHEREAS, Eric Ruud received his Bachelor of Science degree
8 in Political Science from Illinois State University in 1975; he
9 then performed post-graduate work in Public Administration at
10 ISU in 1976; he received his Juris Doctor degree from Southern
11 Illinois University School of Law in 1980; he attended
12 Government Civil Practice seminars conducted by the National
13 College of District Attorneys in 1992, 1993, 1997, and 1999, as
14 well as a comprehensive National District Attorneys
15 Association seminar in 2005; he also attended numerous
16 Continuing Legal Education ethics seminars; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Eric Ruud has been continuously employed as an
18 Assistant State's Attorney in McLean County since 1981; after
19 prosecuting traffic and misdemeanor cases from 1981 to 1983, he
20 was promoted to the Civil Division of the office; from 1983 to
21 1988, he served as the sole Civil Assistant State's Attorney;
22 in 1988, he was promoted to the position of Chief Assistant
23 State's Attorney, where he supervised one attorney and one

 

 

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1 part-time secretary; in 2004, he was promoted to the position
2 of First Assistant State's Attorney, where he remained until
3 his retirement; and
 
4     WHEREAS, During Eric Ruud's tenure with the Civil Division
5 of the McLean County State's Attorneys Office, he specialized
6 in the representation of county government, emphasizing on
7 taxation, contract negotiations, legislation, school law,
8 zoning, and environmental law; major clients that he has
9 represented include the McLean County Board, all McLean County
10 elected and appointed officials, the Regional Board of School
11 Trustees, the Regional Office of Education, the Tax Board of
12 Review, the Regional Planning Commission, and the Emergency
13 Telephone System Board; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Eric Ruud has provided representation in a wide
15 variety of high profile cases and other proceedings; he
16 represented 118 local governments in McLean County before the
17 Circuit Court in a tax objection lawsuit filed by nearly 400
18 tax objectors seeking approximately $4 million in damages, a
19 suit that resulted in the court dismissing over 99% of the
20 objections; he represented McLean County during multiple
21 hearings on a multimillion dollar tax assessment appeal filed
22 by the Mitsubishi Motors manufacturing plant; he represented a
23 Special Hearing Board convened under the authority of the
24 Illinois School Code to conduct extensive public hearings on a

 

 

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1 proposed merger of Community Unit School District #5 and
2 Bloomington School District #87; he also represented a
3 tri-county Regional Board of School Trustees during numerous
4 hearings in cases involving multiple school dissolutions,
5 annexations, and detachments; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Eric Ruud represented the McLean County Pollution
7 Control Site Hearing Committee during its review of and the
8 public hearing process for three applications seeking site
9 approval of significant landfill expansions; he represented
10 the McLean County Board during hearings conducted pursuant to
11 the Illinois Livestock Management Act for a proposed 3,500 head
12 dairy facility near Bellflower; he represented the McLean
13 County Sheriff's Office Merit Commission during several
14 disciplinary hearings involving charges lodged against police
15 and correctional officers; he represented or supervised the
16 representation of the McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals in
17 numerous special use cases, including wind farms, juvenile
18 group homes, gravel pits, and wastewater treatment plants; he
19 also represented McLean County in hearings before the Illinois
20 Commerce Commission opposing the extension of a crude petroleum
21 pipeline from Pontiac to Patoka; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Eric Ruud has taught classes on numerous subjects;
23 he taught Legal Environment of Business and Business Law
24 classes as an Adjunct Professor in the Insurance, Finance and

 

 

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1 Law Department at Illinois State University from January 1989
2 through May 1993; he was a guest lecturer for many years in
3 Political Science and Pre-Law classes at ISU; he has been a
4 frequent lecturer at training seminars sponsored by the
5 Illinois Appellate Prosecutors Office and Illinois State's
6 Attorneys Association; he has also frequently conducted
7 on-site compliance seminars relating to the Illinois Open
8 Meetings Act, Illinois Freedom of Information Act, and State
9 Officials and Employees Ethics Act for numerous boards
10 representing townships, cities, towns and villages in McLean
11 County; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Eric Ruud is a member of numerous boards and
13 organizations, including the Illinois State University
14 Laboratory Schools Citizens Advisory Board, the Illinois State
15 University Ambassador Committee for Laboratory Schools
16 Fundraising Campaign, the Illinois State University Redbird
17 Club, the University High School Alumni Association, and the
18 McLean County Bar Association; he is a past member of the
19 Noah's Ark Pre-School Board of Directors, the Illinois State
20 University Friends of the Arts, the Town of Normal Community
21 Relations Committee on Town/Gown Affairs, and the Town of
22 Normal Human Relations Commission; he has also conducted
23 several Career Day presentations at local junior high and high
24 school classes, as well as numerous presentations on behalf of
25 the McLean County State's Attorneys Office before numerous

 

 

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1 community service organizations, including the Kiwanis,
2 Rotary, Lions, and Exchange Clubs; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Eric Ruud has provided pro bono legal advice to
4 the Youth Impact Board, the Child Protection Network Board, the
5 McLean County Crime Detection Board, the United Workforce
6 Development Board, the Recovery Starts Today Board, the McLean
7 County Rural Mayors Association, and the McLean County Fire
8 Chiefs Association; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Eric Ruud has been the recipient of numerous
10 awards for his service to his community, including the
11 Outstanding Service Award from the Illinois Association of
12 Regional Superintendents of Schools in 2007 and the Alumni
13 Service Award from the University High School Alumni
14 Association in 2007; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Eric Ruud and his wife, Brenda, reside in Normal
16 with their two children, Chris and Caity; therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19 congratulate Eric T. Ruud on the occasion of his retirement and
20 wish him many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it
21 further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Eric Ruud as a symbol of our esteem and respect.