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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to honor Kenneth Zehnder on the
4occasion of his retirement from a long and distinguished career
5in State government; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Kenneth Zehnder began his career working as a
7field coordinator for George H.W. Bush's first Illinois
8Presidential campaign; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 1981, Kenneth Zehnder started with the Office
10of the Illinois Secretary of State as an administrative
11assistant and was quickly promoted through the ranks to become
12Director of the Human Resource and Senior Citizens Department;
13and
 
14    WHEREAS, Kenneth Zehnder was appointed Special Assistant
15to the Governor when Jim Edgar was elected in 1990; in this
16position, he developed an automated processing system for
17candidate and incumbent resource information and assisted
18board nominees during their Senate confirmation process; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Kenneth Zehnder was appointed Director of the
20Illinois Department of Revenue in 1995; his major
21accomplishments included major upgrades to the taxpayer

 

 

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1registration and identification system; he also coordinated a
2program that resulted in doubling the collections of delinquent
3child support payments; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Kenneth Zehnder's latest professional venture led
5to Northern Illinois University as the Director of State and
6Local Relations; among his greatest accomplishments at NIU, he
7regularly provided information and legislative briefings to
8the NIU campus community regarding pending legislation,
9budget, and capital issues in Springfield; during session, he
10also penned a weekly column in NIU Today to update the campus
11community on General Assembly action; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Kenneth Zehnder has worked diligently and
13successfully to advocate for desperately needed State capital
14funds to renovate Cole Hall and the Stevens Building on the
15DeKalb campus; and
 
16    WHEREAS, He assisted NIU's renowned broadband research and
17development group in securing a $2 million State match to
18access millions of dollars in federal funds to create a
19broadband network for rural areas in the northern part of the
20State; and
 
21    WHEREAS, He frequently testified before various
22legislative committees in Springfield on behalf of NIU; he led

 

 

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1the effort amongst public university liaisons in Springfield to
2negotiate a compromise with Harper College that resulted in a
3new four-year degree program offered at Harper College geared
4towards law enforcement and homeland security professionals;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, Kenneth Zehnder is an accomplished golfer and has
7a passion for the sport; after retirement he plans to spend a
8great deal of time at his home in the Galena Territory golfing
9and relaxing; Ken also plans to pursue recreational horseback
10riding; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Kenneth Zehnder has served as a model of hard
12work, integrity, dedication, and success for the people of the
13State of Illinois; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16we congratulate Kenneth Zehnder on the occasion of his
17retirement and wish him many happy and healthy retirement
18years; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to Kenneth Zehnder as a symbol of our esteem and
21respect.