Bill Text: IL SR1610 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Thanks Senator Pat McGuire for his service in the General Assembly.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 26-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-01-13 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Cristina H. Pacione-Zayas [SR1610 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-SR1610-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Senator Pat McGuire began his career in the | ||||||
3 | Illinois Senate in 2012; for eight years, he has proudly and | ||||||
4 | ably served the people of DuPage and Will Counties in that | ||||||
5 | position; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire came to public service long before | ||||||
7 | his election to the General Assembly; he taught job health and | ||||||
8 | safety to local union members and English to high school and | ||||||
9 | community college students; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire has brought a lifetime of | ||||||
11 | experience in both private and public schooling to his role in | ||||||
12 | the Senate; he attended Catholic schools in his hometown of | ||||||
13 | Joliet and later served as a member of his local school board; | ||||||
14 | and
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15 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire also served his community in | ||||||
16 | elective office as a county treasurer before becoming a state | ||||||
17 | senator; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire has been a strong advocate for | ||||||
19 | women and children, including acting to toughen penalties on | ||||||
20 | domestic abusers and funding Court Appointed Special Advocate | ||||||
21 | organizations in order to ensure that abused and neglected |
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1 | children are getting the court support that they need and | ||||||
2 | deserve; and
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3 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire used his position as Chair of the | ||||||
4 | Senate Higher Education Committee to be a tireless champion for | ||||||
5 | the hardworking students and families looking for opportunity | ||||||
6 | in Illinois, including his push to standardize Advanced | ||||||
7 | Placement class credit; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire worked to preserve and redevelop | ||||||
9 | Joliet's government facilities, including serving as a charter | ||||||
10 | member of the Collins Street Task Force to preserve the Collins | ||||||
11 | Street prison facility and fighting to ensure that efforts are | ||||||
12 | made to preserve a longtime fixture of the community; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire was among those leading the fight | ||||||
14 | for fairer wages in the Illinois Senate by co-sponsoring a | ||||||
15 | measure to raise the minimum wage in Illinois to $15 per hour; | ||||||
16 | and
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17 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire spoke against harmful cuts to | ||||||
18 | programs like child care assistance and fought to preserve | ||||||
19 | payroll for state workers during the two year budget crisis | ||||||
20 | that occurred early in his career in the Senate; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire used his position as the Senate |
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1 | Higher Education Chair to lead a years-long outcry among | ||||||
2 | students, faculty, and activists to call for funding for | ||||||
3 | universities during the two-year budget impasse; he spoke | ||||||
4 | against cuts to the university system and in favor of | ||||||
5 | continuing a commitment to affordability, accessibility, and | ||||||
6 | quality on the part of the state's public institutions of | ||||||
7 | higher learning; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire worked to form and lead the | ||||||
9 | bipartisan, bicameral Higher Education Working Group that was | ||||||
10 | instrumental in preserving and reforming Monetary Award | ||||||
11 | Program funding for college students and in creating the AIM | ||||||
12 | HIGH state scholarship; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire focused on college affordability | ||||||
14 | by compromising with colleagues and building on past successes | ||||||
15 | to bring about the Higher Education Savings Program and the | ||||||
16 | Illinois Savings Program Fund to help bring higher education | ||||||
17 | within reach of even more Illinoisans; and
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18 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire also concerned himself with the | ||||||
19 | wellbeing of students on campus by creating the Mental Health | ||||||
20 | Early Action on Campus Act to respond to the very real | ||||||
21 | pressures and uncertainties facing many students living away | ||||||
22 | from home for the first time; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire dedicated himself to improving | ||||||
2 | the State's Department of Children and Family Services by | ||||||
3 | speaking with community members and agency officials on how to | ||||||
4 | support families in the system and improving the Department's | ||||||
5 | ability to respond to their needs; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire dedicated much of his career to | ||||||
7 | support worker safety by pushing for worker access to and | ||||||
8 | knowledge of the regulations and protections granted by OSHA | ||||||
9 | and other state workplace safety organizations; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire, responding to the dire safety | ||||||
11 | concerns posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to essential workers, | ||||||
12 | convened a legislative working group with the goal of providing | ||||||
13 | employees with the means to report improper conditions and | ||||||
14 | provide employers with clear guidance on how to reorganize | ||||||
15 | their workplaces to maximize worker safety and to minimize the | ||||||
16 | likelihood of transmitting the virus; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire earned many accolades during his | ||||||
18 | time serving the 43rd Senate District, including being honored | ||||||
19 | by the Romeoville Fraternal Order of Police, the Illinois | ||||||
20 | Leadership Council for Agricultural Education, the | ||||||
21 | Transportation for Illinois Coalition, the Illinois Optometric | ||||||
22 | Association, Leading Age Illinois, Joliet Central, the senior | ||||||
23 | living communities Heritage Woods of Bolingbrook and Woodridge |
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1 | Horizon, the Southwest Coalition on Substance Abuse Issues, and | ||||||
2 | Volunteers of America of Illinois and by being a member of the | ||||||
3 | Edgar Fellows Program's Class of 2017, among other honors; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Senator McGuire exits the Senate to dedicate more | ||||||
5 | time to his most important roles of being a husband to his wife | ||||||
6 | Lora and a father to his daughter Molly; therefore, be it
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7 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
8 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Senator Pat | ||||||
9 | McGuire for his service to the people of Illinois and honor him | ||||||
10 | with this resolution; and be it further
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11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
12 | presented to Senator McGuire with our best wishes for all his | ||||||
13 | future endeavors.
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