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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, State Senator Deanna Demuzio has represented the
3citizens of the State of Illinois and the families of the 49th
4Legislative District since 2004; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Senator Deanna Demuzio joined the Illinois Senate
6in May of 2004 as the unanimous choice to fill the vacancy
7created when her husband, Senate Majority Leader and Dean of
8the Senate Vince Demuzio, passed away after serving the Central
9Illinois region for more than 30 years; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio, who had been working for families
11and residents of the 49th Legislative District for many years,
12was elected to the Illinois Senate by the voters of the 49th
13Legislative District in 2004 and re-elected to a 4-year term in
14November of 2006; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio, who learned her strong values
16growing up on a family farm in Gillespie, and through her past
17work for the Auditor of Public Accounts, numerous legislators,
18other elected officials, and Lewis and Clark Community College -
19 Macoupin County Center, has brought a wealth of diverse work
20experience to the Illinois Senate; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio began her work in the Illinois

 

 

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1Senate as a legislative assistant for former State Senators
2William Lyons, Charlie Chew, and Ed Nihill; and
 
3    WHEREAS, As a former small business owner, Senator Demuzio
4has been a volunteer for several organizations, including the
5Carlinville Business and Professional Women, the Carlinville
6Chamber of Commerce, and the Carlinville Hospital Auxiliary;
7she served as president of each of the 3 groups at various
8times; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio understands the importance of a
10strong local economy and has been a strong advocate for job
11creation in the 49th District in numerous ways, including her
12support of the $31 billion capital construction bill, which
13will provide her Central Illinois district with over $700,000
14for municipal repairs and more than $400,000 for school
15improvements and, in turn, thousands of jobs; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Understanding the importance of coal in providing
17both jobs and energy, Senator Demuzio has worked to expand the
18use of coal in Illinois to bring jobs to the coal industry, as
19well as expand the use of clean coal technology and other
20alternative fuels, like bio-diesel, to Central Illinois; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio, as a member and as the former
22Vice-Chairperson of the Senate Education Committee, has

 

 

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1championed mentoring programs for principals, increased
2pre-school education, and tirelessly advocated for more
3dollars for local schools; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio was named to the Illinois State
5Action for Education Leadership Project (IL-SAELP) Executive
6Committee, a bi-partisan committee that seeks to improve
7student achievement statewide; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Understanding that a first-class learning
9environment is necessary for a student's success, Senator
10Demuzio sponsored numerous bills to help Illinois schools
11employ highly trained principals and superintendents,
12including her legislation that will require, starting in 2014,
13that school principals will be required to complete an approved
14principal preparation program, hold at least a master's degree,
15and have a minimum of 4 years teaching or other school service
16experience; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio, who has made it a priority to
18develop good education policy in Illinois to ensure each child
19has access to a good school, has been recognized for her
20efforts on behalf of education, receiving the "All Award" from
21both Illinois Education Association Regions 6 and 45; she has
22also been recognized by the Illinois Association of Regional
23School Superintendents Area 5 as a "Friend of Education"; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio is a strong supporter of higher
2education and has served on the Blackburn College Board of
3Trustees since 2004; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has served as Chair of the Senate
5Committee on State Government and Veteran Affairs in the 95th
6and 96th General Assemblies, where she has been a strong voice
7for the wellbeing of Illinois' veterans; she was honored with
8"The Heat is On" Meritorious Service Award by the Illinois
9Veterans of Foreign Wars in honor of her work; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has worked to ease the burden on
11military families with school-age children by passing
12legislation that allows Illinois to enter into the Interstate
13Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children,
14which will make it easier for children of military personnel
15who change schools to transfer school credits and complete
16coursework in order to graduate; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has also passed legislation that
18will simplify the process by which veterans receive free
19hunting and fishing licenses in Illinois, as well as
20legislation which allows veterans to camp for free in Illinois;
21and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio also serves as Vice-Chairperson
2on both the Human Services Committee and the Redistricting
3Committee and has been an active member of the committees on
4Agriculture and Conservation and Commerce and Economic
5Development; she is also the former Chair of the Senate
6Licensed Activities Committee; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has made it a priority to bring
8better healthcare opportunities to rural and underserved areas
9of the State; she served as the chair of the Joint Task Force
10on Rural Health and Medically Underserved Areas, which led to
11her sponsorship of a new law that will make dental care
12available to more people in the State of Illinois by allowing
13the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to expand
14administrative rules permitting dentists to volunteer their
15time at qualified health centers in their communities; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio became a member of the St. Francis
17Hospital Board of Directors Strategic Planning Advisory Group
18in 2009; she has been recognized for her work to improve
19healthcare for residents of Illinois by the Illinois Rural
20Health Association; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Following the death of her husband from colon
22cancer, Senator Demuzio became a strong supporter of colorectal
23cancer screening, passing legislation creating the Vince

 

 

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1Demuzio Memorial Colon Cancer Fund and working to ensure that
2individuals who live in areas of the State that have the
3highest incidences of mortality from colorectal cancer have
4access to early detection and treatment opportunities; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Having grown up on a farm, Senator Demuzio has
6always been a strong supporter of Illinois' number one industry -
7 agriculture; in addition to her service as a member of the
8Senate Agriculture and Conservation Committee, she is a former
9co-chair of the Rural Water Task Force and has been recognized
10with the Illinois Farm Bureau Activator Award; she has also
11been honored by the Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association
12for her commitment to agriculture that involves proper
13stewardship and utilization of agricultural chemicals; and
 
14    WHEREAS, With the proximity of Senator Demuzio's district
15to Springfield, she has been a strong voice in support of State
16employees who reside in her district and work at any one of
17many State facilities and offices in the Springfield area; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has also been involved with other
19community organizations, including the PTA, the American Heart
20Association, and the Rotary Club; she also served as a Macoupin
21County Fair Judge until very recently; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio has served as President of the

 

 

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1Carlinville Public School Foundation; she also served as a
2member of the board for Kemmerer Village, Catholic Charities,
3and the Carlinville Public Library, and has been actively
4involved in organizations such as the Daughters of the American
5Revolution, the Catholic Daughters of America, Relay for Life,
6the Jacksonville Kiwanis, and the Macoupin County Democratic
7Women's Organization; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio's commitment to her district and
9its communities and their values is demonstrated in the
10effective job she has done as a State Senator and by the
11recognition she has received from numerous groups and
12organizations, including the Illinois School for the Deaf and
13the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, who awarded her
14a plaque of thanks for her work to keep the schools open, the
15Illinois Valley Rehab Center, who proclaimed her a "Champion of
16the Less Fortunate", and the Macoupin County Friend of the Fair
17Award; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Senator Demuzio is the mother of her loving son,
19Brad, and her wonderful daughter, Stephanie, who is married to
20Patrick, and is the grandmother of 4; she will be dearly missed
21by all in this chamber; therefore, be it
 
22    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
23ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank State Senator

 

 

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1Deanna Demuzio for her dedicated service to the people of
2Illinois and honor her with this resolution; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4presented to State Senator Deanna Demuzio with our best wishes
5for her future endeavors.