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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate their colleague, Donald
4L. Moffitt, on the occasion of his retirement as State
5Representative of the 74th District after a long and
6distinguished career of public service; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Representative Moffitt was born in Galesburg to
8Russell and Gertrude Moffitt on February 18, 1947; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Representative Moffitt received his Bachelor of
10Science in Agricultural Education and Agricultural Economics
11from the University of Illinois in 1969, where he was a member
12of the Nabor House Fraternity; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Representative Moffitt worked as a high school
14agriculture teacher from 1969 to 1973 for the ROVA School
15District (now ROWVA) in Oneida; during that time, he was
16elected as an Alderman for Oneida; he served as Mayor from 1972
17to 1975; and
 
18    WHEREAS, In 1975, Representative Moffitt continued as a
19full-time family farmer in Gilson; farming goes back in his
20family seven generations to Scotland; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Representative Moffitt served as an Alderman for
2Knoxville from 1977 to 1978, and as Chair of the Police
3Committee for the City; he won a seat on the Knox County Board,
4serving from 1978 to 1984, and as Chair from 1982 to 1984; he
5served as Knox County Treasurer from 1984 to 1992, where he
6helped increase interest earnings on county-invested funds and
7brought real estate tax collection back on time; and
 
8    WHEREAS, In 1992, Representative Moffitt was elected by the
9constituents of the then-94th District to represent their
10interests in the Illinois House of Representatives; his
11district number changed to the 74th after the redistricting
12following the 2000 census, and he continued to dutifully
13represent his district until his retirement in early 2017; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Daring his career in the Illinois House,
15Representative Moffitt championed many causes, including
16improving fire prevention and response capabilities,
17agricultural initiatives, local government improvements, and
18safety issues such as requiring swing-out arms on the front of
19school buses; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Considered by both parties to be a legislator who
21"knew how to get things done", Representative Moffitt thrived
22in his committee service while serving in the Illinois House;
23he served as a member of the 9-1-1 Services Advisory Board from

 

 

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12014 to 2015; a member and eventually Minority Spokesperson of
2the Agriculture and Conservation Committee from 1993 to 1996
3and 2003 to the present; a member of the Public Safety
4Appropriations Committee from 1997 to 1998, 2005 to 2006, and
52013 to the present; Co-Chair of the Commission on Government
6Forecasting and Accountability from 2015 to the present; member
7and Vice-Spokesperson from 1993 to 1994 of the Elementary and
8Secondary Education Committee, serving from 1993 to 1996, 1999
9to 2006, 2011 to the present; Co-Chair of the EMS Task Force
10from 2011 to 2012, which held 16 public hearings throughout the
11State to gather input for recommendations; Co-Chair of the Fire
12Funding Task Force in 2002, which held 22 public hearings
13throughout the State to gather input for recommendations; Chair
14of the Fire Protection Committee from 2007 to 2010; founding
15member and Co-Chair of the bipartisan Illinois General Assembly
16Fire Caucus; a member of the Joint Committee on Administrative
17Rules from 2011 to 2015; and Minority Spokesperson of the
18Public Safety-Police & Fire Committee from 2013 to 2014; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Representative Moffitt has been active in his
20community, serving as a Board Member for the Carver Community
21Action Agency, a member of the Galesburg Noon Lion's Club, a
22Mason, a member of the Knox County Farm Bureau, a member and
23Endowment Committee member, and as past Finance Committee Chair
24at Knoxville United Methodist Church; he was named a Rotary
25International Paul Harris Fellow in 2007, and Lion's Club

 

 

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1International Melvin Jones Fellow in 2013; he received the 2003
2Thomas B. Herring Award from the Chamber of Commerce; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Representative Moffitt has been recognized and
4awarded for his service to his community time and again; he
5received the Illinois Farm Bureau ACTIVATOR Friend of
6Agriculture Award during each of his terms; the 1994 Illinois
7Political Action Committee for Education Outstanding Freshman
8Representative Award; the 1994 National Federation of
9Independent Business Illinois Guardian of Small Business
10Award; the 1996 Illinois Soybean Association Legislative
11Award; 2000 the Illinois Optometric Association Legislator of
12the Year Award; the 2002 Illinois Association of Fire
13Protection Districts Legislator of the Year Award; the
14Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois Legislative Award; the
152003 Illinois Pork Producers Legislative Award; he was also
16recognized as a University of Illinois Fire Service Institute
17Legislators Fire Academy Graduate in 2003; the 2003 Illinois
18Fire Service Legislator of the Year Award; the 2004 Genetic
19Task Force of Illinois Legislator of the Year Award; the 2005
20Jim Guilinger Legislative Award from the Illinois Leadership
21Council for Ag Education; the 2005 Illinois Law Enforcement
22Training & Standards Board Distinguished Service Award; the
232006 Illinois Rural Health Association Legislator of the Year
24Award; the 2008 Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Appreciation Award;
25the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts which

 

 

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1established the "Donald Moffitt" Legislator of the Year Award
2and presented it to its namesake in 2010; the 2012 Illinois
3Association of Arson Investigators Recognition of Sprinkler
4Legislation; the 2014 Illinois EMS Alliance Legislator of the
5Year Award; the 2014 Illinois 9-1-1 National Emergency Number
6Association Legislator of the Year Award; the 2014 Illinois
7Emergency Medical Technician Association Legislative Award;
8and the 2016 Northern Illinois Alliance of Fire Protection
9Districts Lifetime Achievement Award; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Representative Moffitt and his wife, Carolyn,
11have three children, Londa (Michael) Mauriello, Justin (Jenn)
12Moffitt, and Amanda (Lance) Setterdahl; they have eight
13grandchildren; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Representative Moffitt has shown great passion,
15dedication, and commitment to his constituents and their needs
16throughout his legislative career; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19honor and congratulate State Representative Donald L. Moffitt
20for his work in the Illinois House of Representatives and wish
21him our best in his retirement; and be it further
 
22    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be

 

 

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1presented to Representative Moffitt as an expression of our
2esteem and respect.