State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HR0809

 
                                              LRB9216498RHrhA

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,  The  members   of   the   Illinois   House   of
 3    Representatives  are pleased to recognize milestone events in
 4    the lives of the citizens of the State of Illinois; and

 5        WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that James P.  Houk
 6    is  retiring  from  his  duties as Chief of Police of the Oak
 7    Lawn Police Department; and

 8        WHEREAS, James P. Houk was born and raised on  the  South
 9    side  of  Chicago and moved to Oak Lawn in 1968; the son of a
10    Chicago police  officer,  Jim  joined  the  Oak  Lawn  Police
11    Department in 1971; and

12        WHEREAS,  Mr.  Houk  distinguished  himself in the patrol
13    division  and  served  as  a  Crime  Prevention  Officer  and
14    Property Room Director; he was a member of  the  department's
15    Special  Operations  Service where he worked as an undercover
16    investigator; and

17        WHEREAS, Mr. Houk was promoted to Sergeant in 1990 and in
18    1992 he was appointed to the position  of  Deputy  Chief;  on
19    September  27,  1994  he was named Chief of Police and became
20    the head of one of the largest suburban departments  in  Cook
21    County,  overseeing  the duties of 105 police officers and 57
22    civilian employees; and

23        WHEREAS,  As  Chief,  Mr.  Houk   was   instrumental   in
24    modernizing  the  Oak Lawn Police Department; he expanded the
25    community policing concepts in Oak Lawn as well as  developed
26    and  maintained  youth-oriented  programs; he was responsible
27    for the growth of the D.A.R.E. program,  which  reaches  over
28    700  students  annually,  the  development  of  the  E.D.G.E.
29    (Education  for  Gang Evasion), and Peer Jury programs; under
30    James Houk's guidance, a highly effective  Tactical  Response
31    Team,  a  K-9  unit,  which  currently has 2 German Shepherds
 
                            -2-               LRB9216498RHrhA
 1    trained for drug searching and tracking, and a bicycle patrol
 2    unit were created; and

 3        WHEREAS, During his tenure as Police  Chief,  James  Houk
 4    has supported the young people of the community in many ways;
 5    in  May 1995, he assisted Venture Crew 2618 by sponsoring its
 6    charter and, in December 2000, with Mr.  Houk's  support  the
 7    Law Enforcement Explores, Post 9805 was chartered; and

 8        WHEREAS,  The  Oak  Lawn Police Department reaches out to
 9    all segments of the community and Chief Houk  has  seen  that
10    his   officers  receive  the  ongoing  training  that  is  so
11    necessary in the field of law enforcement; and

12        WHEREAS, James Houk and his wife Jean have  been  married
13    for  34  years;  they are the proud parents of Jim, Jennifer,
14    Jannette, and John; they are also the proud  grandparents  of
15    Delaney, with another grandchild on the way; therefore, be it

16        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
17    NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18    we congratulate James P. Houk  on  his  retirement  from  his
19    duties  as Chief of Police of the Oak Lawn Police Department;
20    we wish him well in all of his future endeavors;  and  be  it
21    further

22        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
23    presented to James P. Houk as an expression of our esteem.

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