SR0786 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0786 LRB103 39614 LAW 69925 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to congratulate Becky Cook Kendall on the occasion of her retirement as executive director of the Rockford Regional Health Council after 16 years; and

WHEREAS, The Rockford Regional Health Council, located within the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford, is a 42-year-old nonprofit organization that works to improve community health through data collection and analysis, education, outreach, and advocacy; and

WHEREAS, Over the past 16 years, Becky Cook Kendall spearheaded a number of initiatives for the Rockford Regional Health Council, including the Changing Hearts initiative, which addressed health disparities in minority communities with a focus on hypertension through implementing a program that helped bring blood pressure screenings and heart health education to hundreds of participants and assisted in building trust between minority communities and health care workers; and

WHEREAS, Through the Rockford Regional Health Council, Becky Cook Kendall helped establish a Rockford Public Schools dentistry program by bringing together health care providers and other community groups to implement a school-based program that provided access to dental care and preventive services to students, resulting in roughly 10,000 students receiving screenings and oral health care; and

WHEREAS, Under Becky Cook Kendall's guidance, the Rockford Regional Health Council successfully supported and obtained a half-cent sales tax increase in Winnebago County, resulting in nearly $20 million in revenue going towards assisting community mental health related services and programs; and

WHEREAS, Prior to leading the Rockford Regional Health Council, Becky Cook Kendall worked for Joseph Behr & Sons from 1970 to 1984 and served as vice president of community investment for the United Way of Rock River Valley from 1993 to 2007; and

WHEREAS, Becky Cook Kendall will be honored for her years of service to the Rockford Regional Health Council at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford on March 22, 2024; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Becky Cook Kendall on her retirement as executive director of the Rockford Regional Health Council, and we recognize her commitment to serving the communities of the City of Rockford and Winnebago County; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to congratulate Becky Cook Kendall as an expression of our esteem and respect.