HR0532 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0532 LRB097 13581 KXB 58126 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Illinois Conservation Police Officer II Debbie Mansell on her retirement, August 1, 2011; and

WHEREAS, She retired after 27 years of service to the State of Illinois; she was hired by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in March of 1985 to be an Illinois Conservation Police Officer; she was initially assigned to work the Cook County area, her main responsibilities being Lake Michigan and the extensive Cook County forest preserve system; and

WHEREAS, After a few years of uniformed patrol she was selected to be one of the main operatives in a covert sting based out of the Peoria area; CPO Mansell spent 3 years working as a covert operative targeting the commercialization of the natural resources in the Peoria and Chicago areas; the operation was titled Operation First Shot and became the most successful covert sting ever run by the Illinois Conservation Police; CPO Mansell received the Shikar Safari Wildlife Officer of the Year Award for her efforts during Operation First Shot; and

WHEREAS, After wrapping up Operation First Shot, CPO Mansell returned to the field as a uniformed officer and patrolled Clark County; she remained there for several years until the development of the Illinois Conservation Police Division of Investigations, where she was selected to be an investigator; and

WHEREAS, CPO Mansell had great success as an investigator for the Conservation Police, successfully investigating a variety of cases ranging from wildlife and fish cases to criminal; one of her wildlife investigations resulted in the highest fines ever received for a wildlife related case in the history of the Conservation Police; and

WHEREAS, CPO Mansell spent 12 years as an Investigator for the Conservation Police; in 2008, CPO Mansell returned to uniform and continued her successful career as a uniformed Conservation Police Officer in McLean County; in 2009, CPO Mansell was nominated Region 3 Officer of the Year and was awarded the 2009 Officer of the Year for the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, In 2009, CPO Mansell received the Shikar Safari Wildlife Officer of the Year Award; she led the investigation of a highly publicized wildlife case in central Illinois; CPO Mansell also received numerous certificates of merit and other recommendations over the course of her 27 year career as an Illinois Conservation Police Officer; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate CPO Debbie Mansell on her retirement and wish her the best in her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to CPO Debbie Mansell as a symbol of our respect and esteem.