HR0846 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0846 LRB102 27374 ECR 39163 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize Carol Pope for her many years of service; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pope earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa; she graduated magna cum laude and was named to the Bronze Tablet, the university's highest recognition of academic excellence, in 1975; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pope then attended the DePaul University School of Law, where she was editor of the Law Review; she obtained her J.D. degree, with honor, in 1979; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pope served as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge J. Waldo Ackerman in the Central District of Illinois from 1979 to 1983; she was an attorney with Mayer, Brown and Platt in Chicago from 1983 to 1984; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pope was elected Menard County State's Attorney in 1984 and 1988; she was appointed to serve as a resident circuit judge of Menard County by the Supreme Court of Illinois in 1991; she was elected to that position in 1992 and retained in 1998, 2004, and 2010; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pope was assigned to the Appellate Court on December 1, 2008 and was elected to a full term in 2012; she served until her retirement on August 1, 2017; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pope served as chair of the Supreme Court's Committee on Strategic Planning for three years; she is a past president of the Illinois Judges Association, served as a member of the Executive Committee, and as chair of the Committee on Education of the Illinois Judicial Conference; she is a member of the Illinois Judges Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Sangamon and Menard County Bar Associations; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pope became Legislative Inspector General in March 2019, filling the position after it was empty for four years; and

WHEREAS, As Legislative Inspector General, Carol Pope sought to reform the office and to implement a number of changes, including increased transparencies, the ability to issue subpoenas without the approval of the Legislative Ethics Commission as well as reports about investigations, and the creation of a ninth slot on the ethics commission for a nonpartisan member who is not a state lawmaker; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pope left the position of Legislative Inspector General in January 2022 due to concerns that reforms were not being made; and

WHEREAS, Carol Pope and her husband, Al, have two sons and four grandsons; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize Carol Pope for her dedication and service; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Carol Pope as an expression of our esteem and respect.