HR0817 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0817 LRB103 40803 LAW 73679 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the Honorable Michael Christopher Fountain, Honorary Consul of the Consulate of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern United States, on the occasion of his decade of continued service; and

WHEREAS, Consul Fountain, a Chicagoan from Chicago's West Side, possesses patrilineal descent to The Bahamas dating back to 1847 as a descendant of William Fountain; and

WHEREAS, Consul Fountain was accredited by the U.S. Department of State as the first Honorary Consul of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern United States on March 6, 2014, becoming the second honorary consul of The Bahamas to ever be assigned and accredited by the United States; he opened the first Consulate of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago on September 5, 2014; and

WHEREAS, Consul Fountain has conducted public diplomacy work to protect the interests of Bahamian nationals in the United States and to promote and engage interested parties in the specific matters of tourism, investment, trade, art, economic development, culture, science, agriculture, public safety, and the import and export of goods and services within his jurisdiction of the Midwestern United States, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; and

WHEREAS, To further bilateral relationship opportunities between nations, Consul Fountain has engaged the administrations of the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Governors of the State of Illinois, the 69th and 70th Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives, the 38th and 39th Presidents of the Illinois Senate, and the 55th, 56th, and 57th Mayors of Chicago, and he has hosted The Bahamas' Minister of Foreign Affairs, its Parliamentary Secretary, its Ambassador and Head of Mission to the United States, its Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States, three consul generals of The Bahamas, and general manager of the Broadcast Corporation of The Bahamas for engagements in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, To deepen the diplomatic engagement between the State of Illinois and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Consul Fountain has overseen numerous activities, including raising the first flag of The Bahamas over Illinois soil in acknowledgment of the first sanctioned Sister City relationship between Cat Island, Bahamas and Richton Park, Illinois and in celebration of the 43rd anniversary of Bahamian Independence on July 8, 2016, the first flag of The Bahamas at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in celebration of the 44th anniversary of Bahamian Independence on July 7, 2017, and the first flag within Chicago city limits in celebration of the 48th anniversary of Bahamian Independence on July 9, 2021; he also organized and sponsored the first State visit of a sitting Prime Minister of The Bahamas to Chicago from September 10 to September 11, 2023, during which he facilitated the opportunity for Prime Minister Wendall K. Jones to speak at the City Club of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, As a diplomatic representative of The Bahamas, Consul Fountain has also provided numerous support services to countless Bahamians in need of assistance, and he has previously led multistate awareness and relief efforts for Bahamians affected by Hurricanes Joaquin, Irma, Matthew, and Dorian; and

WHEREAS, Consul Fountain has served with distinction as a member of the Board of Chancellors for the Consular Corps College, an association of foreign consuls in the United States based in Washington, D.C., and he is a member of the Chicago Consular Corps; and

WHEREAS, As the longest-serving diplomatic representative of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in the United States of America, Consul Fountain now celebrates a decade of diplomacy, representing Bahamians in the Diaspora, within his jurisdiction of the Midwestern United States and the larger United States of America; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Honorable Michael Christopher Fountain, Honorary Consul of the Consulate of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas in Chicago for the Midwestern United States, on serving as a crucial link to the bilateral relationship between The Bahamas and the United States for over a decade, and we wish him continued success while conducting his consular duties; and be it further

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