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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Illinois State Senator Chris Lauzen has
3represented the citizens of Kane, Kendall, and LaSalle counties
4and northeastern Illinois with distinction in the Illinois
5State Senate for 20 years; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was first elected to the Senate in
71992, promising to "work hard, stay honest, and use common
8sense"; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was one of a group of newly-elected
10conservative State senators known as the "Fab Five", including
11Senator Dave Syverson, Senator Steve Rauschenberger, Senator
12Patrick O'Malley, and Senator Peter Fitzgerald, who
13consistently voted to limit the size of government, protect
14individual freedoms, expose corruption in both parties, and
15introduce fair accounting rules to the State budget; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Throughout his two decades of service, Senator
17Lauzen has represented his constituents in Springfield with
18determination and distinction, fighting hard to make the State
19of Illinois a better place to live and work; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen personally responds to all
21correspondence, telephone calls or emails, he receives from

 

 

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1constituents; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen started "Illinois Porkbusters",
3which seeks to cut $5 million in wasteful spending each year
4from the State budget; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen sponsored a property tax
6assessment freeze for homeowners older than 65 with incomes
7less than $35,000, was the lead sponsor of the "5% Pay Cut for
8Politicians" legislation, and sponsored the largest employment
9tax decrease in the past 16 years; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen worked to reduce property taxes on
11VFW and American Legion veterans' posts by 85% and place a cap
12on future increases; and
 
13    WHEREAS, As a supporter of effective public education,
14Senator Lauzen helped secure more than $48 million for school
15construction grants; he sponsored education license plates for
16future teachers' scholarships and was the only senator to speak
17out and vote against tuition discounts for illegal immigrants
18at public universities; and
 
19    WHEREAS, To counter the rising costs of medical care,
20Senator Lauzen launched a prescription medication pilot
21program that saved participants an average of 50% on the cost

 

 

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1of drugs, at no expense to taxpayers; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen sponsored a ban on intact dilation
3and extraction abortion; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was the original lead sponsor of
5the Breast Cancer Research voluntary check-off on the State
6personal income tax return, which has raised millions of
7dollars for breast cancer research; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen served as Republican Spokesman of
9the Senate Revenue Committee since 2003; he was a member of the
10Senate Pensions and Investments Committee, the Senate
11Appropriations I and II committees, and was co-chair of the
12Legislative Audit Commission; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In recognition of his consistently pro-employment
14record, Senator Lauzen was honored by the Illinois Chamber of
15Commerce with the "Champion of Free Enterprise" award in 2002
16and 2012, and by the NFIB with the "Guardian of Small Business"
17award in 1996; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen also received the John Ericcson
19Republican League of Illinois Award in 2011, the Illinois Farm
20Bureau Friend of Agriculture Activator Award in 2008 and 2010,
21the IATCD Legislator of the Year in 2009, the A.B.A.T.E.

 

 

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1Recognition of Support of Our Freedom Award in 2009, the
2Illinois Civil Justice League "Friends of Fairness" Award in
32007, the Army National Guard Certificate of Appreciation
4Support of the Illinois Army National Guard and Charlie Troop
52/106th Calvary in 2007, the Outstanding Senator Award from the
6DuPage County Farm Bureau, the Education Center Community
7Leadership Award in 2000, the Holy Angels School Alumnus of the
8Year in 1999, the Illinois Family Institute Leadership Award in
91997, the Marmion Academy Centurion Award in 1996, the Family
10PAC Legislator of the Year in 1996, and the Y-Me National
11Breast Cancer Organization Award in Excellence in 1994; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen is a nationally recognized expert
13on public pensions; he spoke at the American Legislative
14Exchange Council's 2009 Convention in New Orleans, at the
15National Conference of State Legislatures' 2009 Convention in
16Philadelphia, and at the 2010 U.S. Chamber of Commerce event
17broadcast on C-SPAN; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was a member of the Illinois
19Economic and Fiscal Commission and the Illinois State Crime
20Commission; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen published an article about
22education reform with the Heartland Institute and was also a
23member of the Institute's Legislative Forum; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was an elected delegate for the
2White House Conference on Small Business in Washington, D.C.,
3in 1995; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was appointed to the Economic
5Development Board by Sam Skinner; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen has been involved in the Lions
7Clubs in several communities, numerous local Chambers of
8Commerce, the Compassion Foundation Board of Directors, the Fox
9Valley Maoris Rugby team, the Heart of Illinois POW/MIA
10Association, the Sons of the American Legion, and the Illinois
11Republican National Hispanic Assembly; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen was born in Aurora, Illinois, and
13raised in the Pigeon Hill neighborhood; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen earned a bachelor of science degree
15with honors in management science and english in 1974 from Duke
16University; he received his Certified Public Accountant
17credentials in 1976 from the University of Illinois and a
18master's degree in business administration in 1978 from Harvard
19Business School; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen is a player/member of the Harvard

 

 

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1Old Boy Rugby Team; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen is currently pursuing a doctorate
3in education finance from Northern Illinois University; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen worked as the president of the
5Comprehensive Accounting Corporation, where he helped teach
6more than 300 accountants how to go into business for
7themselves; and
 
8    WHEREAS, During his 5 years as president, the number of
9franchise offices tripled to 450 nationwide, pre-tax profit
10doubled, and the network of accountants served more than 22,000
11small-business owners; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen and his wife later purchased a
13Comprehensive Accounting franchise, and in less than
14four-and-a-half years, he was managing the books and tax
15preparation for more than 200 small businesses in the local
16area; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen's grandparents emigrated from
18Romania to the United States in the early 20th century; and
 
19    WHEREAS, On July 28, 2006, Romanian President Traian
20Basescu awarded him the Order of the Star of Romania Medal,

 

 

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1Commander Rank (the highest commendation granted to a foreign
2citizen by Romania), in recognition of his work to "build
3bridges of friendship and commerce between the people of
4Romania and the United States"; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Senator Lauzen and his wife, Sarah, are the proud
6parents of Ted (wife, Sarah), Elliot, Hans, and Robbie;
7therefore, be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
9ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Senator
10Lauzen on his retirement from the Illinois State Senate after
1120 years of honorable and dedicated service; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this preamble and
13resolution be presented to Senator Lauzen with our friendship,
14our gratitude for his hard work, and our best wishes for his
15future endeavors, including his service as chairman of the Kane
16County Board.