Full Text of SR1050 96th General Assembly
SR1050 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Senator Dan Cronin has represented the citizens of | 3 | | the State of Illinois, in particular DuPage and Cook Counties, | 4 | | for nearly 20 years; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Senator Dan Cronin has served with honor in the | 6 | | Illinois Senate since 1993, after serving one term in the | 7 | | Illinois House of Representatives; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Senator Cronin was the Chairman of the Senate | 9 | | Education Committee for 8 years and was Minority Spokesman for | 10 | | 8 years; in addition, he served on a number of important Senate | 11 | | committees, including Higher Education, Labor, Public Health, | 12 | | Judiciary Civil Law, Pensions and Investments, Commerce and | 13 | | Development, and Telecommunications and Technology; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Senator Cronin is esteemed for his strong | 15 | | commitment to education, making it a top priority during his | 16 | | time in the General Assembly and securing millions of dollars | 17 | | for new construction and renovation of Illinois schools; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Senator Cronin successfully sponsored the | 19 | | landmark 1999 legislation creating the Tuition Tax Credit for | 20 | | education expenses for parents; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, His dedication to Illinois schoolchildren led to | 2 | | his role as the chief sponsor and a key negotiator of the | 3 | | groundbreaking Chicago School Reform legislation in 1995, | 4 | | which became a national model for helping failing school | 5 | | systems by demanding local accountability as well as improved | 6 | | standards for teachers, administrators, and students; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Senator Cronin has been a strong advocate for new | 8 | | approaches to public education, co-sponsoring legislation to | 9 | | provide school vouchers to children in Chicago's most | 10 | | under-performing and over-crowded schools, advancing measures | 11 | | expanding charter schools in Illinois, establishing teacher | 12 | | certification alternatives to expedite the hiring of new, more | 13 | | qualified teachers, and developing a new system of teacher | 14 | | re-certification that required teaching professionals to | 15 | | engage in professional development; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, He has advanced bills to address the issue of | 17 | | teacher shortages and create teacher mentoring programs in | 18 | | order to bring the best and brightest teachers to at-risk | 19 | | students in Illinois' most struggling schools; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Senator Cronin has consistently been a strong | 21 | | voice for Illinois' employers, leading the charge on landmark | 22 | | eminent domain legislation to ensure that property owners are | 23 | | fairly reimbursed for relocations and legal expenses; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, As a lifelong resident of DuPage County, Senator | 2 | | Cronin has always worked hard to protect the families in the | 3 | | western suburbs of Chicago; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, His staunch advocacy for tax relief led him to | 5 | | push for landmark tax cap legislation that extended property | 6 | | tax caps to Cook County homeowners, while also advancing | 7 | | property tax caps for senior citizens and veterans; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, He has been a consistent vote against higher taxes | 9 | | on families and small businesses, supporting the Tax | 10 | | Accountability Act to require a 3/5 majority vote by the | 11 | | General Assembly to increase taxes; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Senator Cronin's experience as a former DuPage | 13 | | County Assistant State's Attorney has led him to be a vocal | 14 | | advocate and sponsor of tough, effective law enforcement | 15 | | legislation; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, He has sponsored legislation cracking down on gang | 17 | | crimes and drunk driving, imposing tougher penalties for | 18 | | violent crimes, introducing anti-terrorism measures, and | 19 | | advancing truth-in-sentencing laws; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, His concern for the safety and welfare of Illinois |
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| 1 | | children led him to sponsor laws that improved security at | 2 | | schools, protected children and women from domestic violence, | 3 | | strengthened teen driving laws, and advanced the first | 4 | | legislation to address aggressive behavior in students, | 5 | | including bullying; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Senator Cronin recognized the growing problem of | 7 | | identity theft and was a lead sponsor on a bill eliminating the | 8 | | statute of limitations for this crime and supported legislation | 9 | | requiring businesses to notify Illinois consumers if their | 10 | | personal information is compromised; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, As a loving parent who understands the importance | 12 | | of a stable family, and touched by the "Baby Richard" adoption | 13 | | case, Senator Cronin led the way for legislation designed to | 14 | | bring peace of mind to adoptive parents and protect the | 15 | | interests of the child; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, For many years Senator Cronin has fought for | 17 | | autistic children and their families, working hard to ensure | 18 | | that they receive the best care possible and have the | 19 | | opportunity to learn and grow as individuals in the community; | 20 | | and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, He co-sponsored the Family Care Bill to allow | 22 | | employees to take leave from work to care for family members in |
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| 1 | | need; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, He has been a strong supporter of good government | 3 | | reforms, leading the charge on recall legislation to permit | 4 | | voters to remove elected officials from public office, as well | 5 | | as measures to limit contributions to political campaigns and | 6 | | increase transparency in Illinois State government; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, His long legislative career has been marked by | 8 | | numerous honors, including Crain's Chicago Business "Forty | 9 | | Under 40" and recognition from local, State, and national | 10 | | organizations representing such diverse interests as economic | 11 | | development, education, environmental protection, veterans, | 12 | | and health care; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Senator Cronin graduated from Northwestern | 14 | | University and Loyola University Law School; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, In addition to his work as a lawmaker, Senator | 16 | | Cronin is a partner in the law firm of Power & Cronin, Ltd. and | 17 | | is a life-long member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic | 18 | | parish; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, He is proud to sit on the Boards of Directors of | 20 | | the Ray Graham Association for People with Disabilities, the | 21 | | Joseph Academy, Fenwick High School, and the DuPage Business |
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| 1 | | Advisory Council, among others; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, As a lawmaker, Senator Cronin's priorities have | 3 | | always been those of the people he represents, better schools | 4 | | for our children, public safety, property tax relief and | 5 | | improving the quality of life for the people of his district; | 6 | | and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, With his retirement, Senator Cronin leaves to | 8 | | begin a new journey as DuPage County Board Chairman, with the | 9 | | support of his family, his wife, Juliann, and their four | 10 | | children, Elizabeth, Sarah, Grace, and Danny; therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL | 12 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Dan Cronin for | 13 | | his many years of dedicated service to the people of Illinois | 14 | | and honor him with this resolution; and be it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this preamble and | 16 | | resolution be presented to Dan Cronin with our best wishes for | 17 | | his future endeavors.
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