HR0024 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0024 LRB101 05540 ALS 50556 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate John A. Ostenburg on his 30-year career in public service and on the occasion of his retirement as the Mayor of Park Forest; and

WHEREAS, John Ostenburg was elected as Mayor of Park Forest in 1999 and was reelected for four more terms; during his tenure as Mayor, he was the Chief Elected Official for 20 years and currently holds the distinction as the longest-serving Mayor in the history of Park Forest; and

WHEREAS, John Ostenburg's visionary approach resulted in many initiatives and successes for Park Forest, including as an All-American City finalist in 2000 and 2006 and a Chicago Tribune Top 100 workplace in 2010; the award-winning Park Forest Sustainability Plan was implemented in 2012, and the city received a 3-STAR designation in 2014 and the SolSmart "Gold" designation in 2015; under his leadership, Park Forest was also the recipient of the Distinguished Budget Award and Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for more than 20 consecutive years; and

WHEREAS, John Ostenburg was instrumental in diversifying and unifying the Park Forest Board of Trustees, both in race and gender, to establish a very cohesive leadership team; and

WHEREAS, John Ostenburg's leadership influence expanded far beyond the boundaries of Park Forest, as he was heavily involved at the regional, state, and federal levels; he served in a variety of positions at the appointment of the Cook County Board President and the Illinois Municipal League; he also served as President of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association and as Chairman of the Board for the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus; his ascension into these top leadership roles in the SSMMA and the MMC were based on longstanding work on various committees within both entities; and

WHEREAS, Outside of public service, John Ostenburg's career included teaching at elementary and secondary school levels before becoming affiliated with several institutions of higher learning; in addition to teaching journalism and communications courses, he has served as the Director of Alumni Affairs and Sports Information Director at Lewis University, the Executive Director of the College Foundation at Prairie State College, and the Director of University Relations at Governors State University; his professional career continued with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), where he served as the Editor of the Chicago Union Teacher, the Communications Department Chair, and the Chief of Staff; and

WHEREAS, John Ostenburg built strong relationships with leaders in Cook County, Springfield, and Washington, D.C.; he was a champion of regionalism, equality, diversity, and an environmentalist; he helped lead efforts toward important housing, economic development, and legislative matters with county and state leaders; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate John A. Ostenburg on the occasion of his retirement as the Mayor of Park Forest, and we commend his 30-year career in public service; and be it further

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