HR0422 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0422 LRB096 12968 GRL 27042 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Frank M. Paris on the occasion of his retirement from the Village of River Forest; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris is a lifelong resident of River Forest and a graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris served with the Village of River Forest for 20 years; he served for 4 years as a trustee from 1989 to 1993 and 16 years as Village President from 1993 to 2009; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris aided the development of the Village of River Forest by streamlining the development process through the creation of the Development Review Board; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris pushed for development of the River Forest Town Center, which opened in the mid-1990s, and for the second phase of the Town Center, which opened in the early 2000s; these developments benefited both River Forest and Oak Park; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris advocated for a Tax Increment Financing District to aid development of the Town Center; he later advocated for keeping excess dollars in the TIF funds locally by entering into inter-governmental agreements with the River Forest School District #90 and OPRF #200 to transfer some of the excess funds to help the schools; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris worked for inter-governmental cooperation at all levels of government, particularly with the Village of Oak Park and the Cook County Forest Preserve District, through various inter-governmental agreements and the creation of the Consolidated Dispatch Center, which serves River Forest, Oak Park, and Elmwood Park with medically trained dispatchers; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris worked consistently with Concordia University and Dominican University to assist the schools with development efforts to improve their campuses with new facilities; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris worked to bring new businesses to River Forest and to make the designs of their developments compatible with the neighborhoods they were located in; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris worked to improve the quality of new housing stock, particularly multi-family housing, in River Forest while attempting to maintain the open, residential character of the Village; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris was instrumental in assisting the Park District with the development of Priory Park and the new homes along the edge of the park; and

WHEREAS, Frank M. Paris worked hard to keep the government of River Forest lean and keep property tax assessments as low as possible to benefit the residents of River Forest; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Frank M. Paris on the occasion of his retirement from the Village of River Forest and wish him happiness and success in his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Frank M. Paris as a symbol of our esteem and respect.