HR0557 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0557 LRB099 12659 MST 36340 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Lonnie Stephenson on being appointed International President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); and

WHEREAS, Lonnie Stephenson was born and raised in Rock Island; and

WHEREAS, Lonnie Stephenson began his apprenticeship as an inside wireman in 1975 and was initiated into IBEW Local Union 145 in 1976; and

WHEREAS, Lonnie Stephenson was very active in his local union early in his career, serving on several committees and being elected Vice-President in 1984 and President from 1987 to 1992; as President, he implemented many new initiatives within his local union, including forming an active community service committee, holding an annual blood drive, and getting the local union's building recognized as a Red Cross Disaster Center, which was utilized as such during flooding of the Quad-City area in 1997; he was appointed Assistant Business Agent in 1991 and was elected Business Manager in 1996; as Business Manager, he was very aggressive in organizing and his membership grew from 700 members to over 1,100 during his tenure as Business Manager; one of his proudest moments as Business Manager was when a nonunion electrician stopped in his office to ask how he could join the IBEW because it was too strong a union area and he had to travel for his employer to find work; and

WHEREAS, IBEW International President Edwin Hill recognized Lonnie Stephenson's dedication to the IBEW and appointed him as an International Representative assigned to the Sixth District on January 1, 2002; he was soon thereafter appointed the Organizing Coordinator for the Sixth District and then Administrative Assistant to then IBEW Sixth District IVP Joseph (Jeff) Lohman; and

WHEREAS, On September 1st, 2010, Lonnie Stephenson was appointed by President Hill as International Vice-President of the Sixth District; he was then elected to a 5-year term by the delegates at the IBEW's 38th International Convention held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 2011; and

WHEREAS, On May 27, 2015, Lonnie Stephenson was appointed International President of the IBEW effective June 1, 2015; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Lonnie Stephenson on being appointed International President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; and be it further

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