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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Kurt DeWeese on the
4 occasion of his retirement on January 1, 2010, after 38 1/2
5 years of dedicated service as a Legislative Staff Research
6 Analyst for the Democratic Leadership of the Illinois House of
7 Representatives; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Kurt DeWeese attended Fairchild School in Normal
9 and graduated from University School in Carbondale; he attended
10 American Community School in Saigon, South Vietnam from 1965 to
11 1966; he attended Oregon State University in 1967, then
12 transferred to and earned his bachelor's degree in education
13 from Illinois State University in January of 1971; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Prior to his graduation from ISU, Kurt DeWeese
15 served as a student teacher at Austin High School in Chicago;
16 during this period, he applied for entrance to the Illinois
17 Legislative Staff Intern Program (ILSIP); after being chosen by
18 then-Democratic Leader Clyde Choate, he began his career of
19 public service with the 76th General Assembly as a legislative
20 intern in October of 1971; during his time as an intern, he
21 became dedicated to the General Assembly's mission to assure
22 the health and safety of the people of the State of Illinois;
23 and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, After his tenure as a legislative intern, Kurt
2 DeWeese was selected to serve as a Health & Human Services
3 Analyst for the Democratic Leadership of the Illinois House; as
4 an analyst, he has proven to be an invaluable resource to the
5 members of the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate
6 through his work with the various standing and temporary
7 committees and legislative task forces on a myriad of issues;
8 and
 
9     WHEREAS, Kurt DeWeese has consistently served as a voice of
10 expertise and insight on numerous critical issues that the
11 General Assembly has faced, including health planning reform;
12 nursing home regulation; human service agency reorganization;
13 the revision and editing of the Mental Health & Developmental
14 Disabilities Code and the Illinois Public Aid Code; the
15 licensure of new health facilities and professions; managed
16 care and numerous other health insurance reforms; the creation
17 and development of the child abuse and neglect reporting and
18 investigation system; child day care reform; child foster care
19 reform; tobacco settlement fund distribution; hospital and
20 long-term care Medicaid Provider Tax programs; the State
21 Response to AIDS/HIV disease; public health emergency response
22 planning; the State response to Alzheimer's and related
23 disorders; Rural/Downstate and Medically Underserved Health
24 development; the reform of mental health and developmental

 

 

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1 disability services; universal health care; welfare reform;
2 various expansions/reforms of the Medical Assistance
3 (Medicaid) program; the creation and reform of various
4 prescription drug assistance programs; and the establishment
5 and development of home and community-based care for the
6 elderly and disabled; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Throughout his long legislative career, Kurt
8 DeWeese has served under the guidance of Chiefs of Staff
9 Douglas Kane, Ward Johnson, Jim Andrews, Gary LaPaille, and Tim
10 Mapes and Research/Appropriations Staff Directors Veronica
11 Lynch, Bill Foster, Bob Carter, Mary Ellen Lynch, Ralph
12 Nickell, Tony Rossi, Terri Coombes, and John Lowder; and he has
13 worked under the direction of the chairpersons of numerous
14 committees, including Representatives Eugenia Chapman, Jesse
15 White, Michael Holewinski, Aaron Jaffe, Eugene Barnes, Eugene
16 Moore, David Phelps, Thaddeus Lechowicz, Lee Preston, Andrew
17 McGann, John Cullerton, Carol Ronen, Jan Schakowsky, Sara
18 Feigenholtz, Bob Rita, Mary Flowers, Barbara Flynn Currie,
19 Naomi Jakobsson, Kathy Ryg, Will Davis, Lisa Dugan, Tom
20 Holbrook, Dan Beiser, Lou Lang, Lee Daniels, William Delgado,
21 Coy Pugh, Connie Howard, John Fritchey, Jack McGuire, and
22 Wyvetter Younge; and
 
23     WHEREAS, During his many years of service in the Illinois
24 House of Representatives, Kurt DeWeese has served faithfully

 

 

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1 under the leadership of Speakers William A. Redmond and Michael
2 J. Madigan and served the Democratic Leadership during the
3 tenures of Republican Speakers Robert Blair, George Ryan, and
4 Lee Daniels; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Kurt DeWeese was inducted into the Legislative
6 Internship Hall of Fame in 1997; he was also the recipient of
7 the Legislative Staff Achievement Award in 2007 by the
8 Leadership Staff Section of the National Conference of State
9 Legislatures; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Following his retirement from State government,
11 Kurt DeWeese plans to spend more time with his family and
12 engage in other activities within his community; however, he
13 will remain keenly interested in health and human service
14 issues and will hopefully impart his extensive wisdom to future
15 generations; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Kurt DeWeese's legacy of hard work, integrity, and
17 dedication to both the government and people of the State of
18 Illinois will be fondly remembered by the members of this
19 august body; therefore, be it
 
20     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22 congratulate Kurt DeWeese on the occasion of his retirement,

 

 

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1 thank him for his many years of dedicated service to the
2 Illinois General Assembly and the people of the State of
3 Illinois, and wish him many happy and healthy retirement years;
4 and be it further
 
5     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6 presented to Kurt DeWeese as a symbol of our esteem and
7 respect.