Full Text of HR0157 103rd General Assembly
HR0157 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to commend Alderperson Tom Tunney on his | 4 | | service to the 44th Ward as a member of the Chicago City | 5 | | Council; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Ald. Tunney was born and raised on the South Side | 7 | | of Chicago; he obtained his undergraduate degree in Restaurant | 8 | | Management from the University of Illinois and his master's | 9 | | degree in Hotel Management from Cornell University; he | 10 | | returned to Chicago in 1980, settling in the Lakeview | 11 | | neighborhood, where he has been a resident for over 30 years; | 12 | | and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Ald. Tunney took over the Ann Sather Restaurant | 14 | | in 1981; during his ownership, he has successfully expanded | 15 | | the business into a chain through the addition of two | 16 | | restaurants and Ann Sather Corporate and Special Event | 17 | | Catering; he continues to serve the community through his | 18 | | business, allowing local groups the use of his restaurants for | 19 | | meetings and forums; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Ald. Tunney was first elected to represent the | 21 | | 44th Ward on the Chicago City Council in 2003, becoming | 22 | | Chicago's first openly gay alderperson; he was thereafter |
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| 1 | | reelected in 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019, and he was elected | 2 | | vice mayor of Chicago in 2019; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Since taking office, Ald. Tunney has been | 4 | | committed to maintaining, upgrading, and ensuring proper | 5 | | restoration of all public infrastructure throughout the 44th | 6 | | Ward; he has invested over seven million dollars in upgrading | 7 | | street lighting, accounting for nearly half of the 44th Ward's | 8 | | annual infrastructure funding; he has also invested in | 9 | | upgrading outdated traffic and pedestrian signals, installing | 10 | | new traffic signals and pedestrian signage, and improving bike | 11 | | and pedestrian infrastructure; further, he has worked with the | 12 | | Department of Transportation to establish full street asphalt | 13 | | restoration of streets after large-scale water, sewer, gas, | 14 | | and communications upgrades; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Ald. Tunney has additionally been invested in | 16 | | public safety, development, schools, and the quality of life | 17 | | in the 44th Ward; he has fought to maintain and increase the | 18 | | number of officers upon the merger of the Chicago Police | 19 | | Department's 19th and 23rd Districts; he has worked to bring | 20 | | in new food outlets, including Mariano's, Whole Foods, and | 21 | | Target, in addition to securing Transit-Oriented Developments | 22 | | (TODs) to reduce vehicular congestion; he has expanded the | 23 | | number of affordable housing units to more than 800 units and | 24 | | secured a $7 million grant for the renovation of the Merlo |
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| 1 | | Chicago Public Library branch; he has regularly attended local | 2 | | school events and was instrumental in securing funding for | 3 | | Harriet Tubman Elementary School, Blaine Elementary School, | 4 | | and Lake View High School; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Ald. Tunney has served as an advocate for | 6 | | Chicago's LGBTQ+ community, including obtaining funding for | 7 | | the LGBTQ+ senior center at Halsted and Addison, the Town Hall | 8 | | LGBTQ+ senior housing projects, and for AIDS and LGBTQ+ | 9 | | support services; he has helped build the Boystown area, | 10 | | supported Chicago's massive Pride Parade and related events, | 11 | | and pushed for the creation of the AIDS Garden, which opened in | 12 | | June 2022; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, During his last term, Ald. Tunney has enhanced | 14 | | the safety of the community by working with the Chicago Police | 15 | | Department to create the Lakeview Entertainment Detail, | 16 | | responded to community requests for more parks by building | 17 | | three new playgrounds, and secured additional affordable | 18 | | housing for his constituents; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Ald. Tunney has served as chair of the Chicago | 20 | | City Council's LGBTQ+ Caucus and as chairman of the Committee | 21 | | on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, the Special | 22 | | Committee on the Chicago Casino, and several joint committees; | 23 | | he has also served as a member of the Committee on Budget and |
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| 1 | | Government Operations, the Committee on Committees and Rules, | 2 | | the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development, | 3 | | the Committee on Finance, the Committee on License and | 4 | | Consumer Protection, the Committee on Public Safety, the | 5 | | Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation, | 6 | | the Committee on Workforce Development, and several joint | 7 | | committees; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Ald. Tunney has been actively involved in his | 9 | | community in several organizations, including serving as | 10 | | chairman of the Illinois Restaurant Association, founder and | 11 | | former president of the Lakeview Center Business Association, | 12 | | and as a founding board member and former chairman of the White | 13 | | Crane Senior Center; he was one of the first volunteers of the | 14 | | Open Hand Chicago program, which provided home delivery of hot | 15 | | meals to AIDS patients, opening his restaurant to help with | 16 | | the preparation and distribution of meals; he established | 17 | | Restaurant Nights at the Illinois Masonic Hospital to serve | 18 | | meals to AIDS patients and their families; he was also the | 19 | | former fundraising chair for IMPACT, a gay and lesbian | 20 | | political action organization; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Ald. Tunney has expressed plans to continue | 22 | | serving as an advocate for the business community in his | 23 | | retirement; therefore, be it |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 2 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 3 | | we commend Alderperson Tom Tunney for his work on the Chicago | 4 | | City Council, and we thank him for his years of dedicated | 5 | | service to the people of the 44th Ward and the City of Chicago; | 6 | | and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to Ald. Tunney as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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