Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SR0014

SR0014 LRB104 07418 MST 17459 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to congratulate Omer Osman on his retirement and commend him for his decades of service to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), his community, and his country; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman joined IDOT in 1989 as a civil engineer before rising through the ranks of the department, serving as bureau chief of operations, Region 5 engineer, chief engineer, director of highways, and deputy secretary before being appointed Illinois Transportation Secretary in 2019; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman is just the third secretary to spend their entire career with the agency before being appointed secretary; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman's vast experience in transportation includes the management and advancement of complex projects and the assessment of current resources to inform funding and programmatic needs to create a multimodal system for the 21st century; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman fostered a culture of innovation and stressed the importance of IDOT leading the nation in best practices, including programs and initiatives that positioned the agency as one of the most innovative departments of transportation in the country; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman led IDOT through the majority of the six-year Rebuild Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker's historic, bipartisan capital program investing a total of $33.2 billion into the state's aging transportation system, creating jobs and promoting economic growth as not only the largest capital program in state history but also the first to touch all modes of transportation, including roads and bridges, transit, waterways, freight and passenger rail, aviation, and bicycle and pedestrian accommodations; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman oversaw the completion of many notable projects during his tenure, including the new Mississippi River bridge and relocation of Illinois 3 in East St. Louis, the Interstate 74/155 interchange reconstruction in Morton, the Illinois 13 expansion between Carbondale and Interstate 57 in Marion, the rehabilitation of the U.S. 150 Illinois River bridge in Peoria, and the I-74 Mississippi River bridge in the Quad Cities; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman steered IDOT through the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping the department open, projects continuing, and the economy moving; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman has been a lifelong champion of diversity, playing an integral part in statewide recruitment efforts to diversify personnel in all state job classifications as well as advocating for eliminating barriers and increasing access to IDOT partnerships with Disadvantaged Business Enterprises and minority and female-owned businesses; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman, in addition to his commitment to IDOT, volunteered his time, talents, and skills to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials policy and highway committees; and

WHEREAS, Omer Osman has been a devoted husband to his wife, Magda, and a loving father to their children, Khalid, Waleed, and Nadeen; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Omer Osman on his retirement and commend him for his decades of service to IDOT, his community, and his country; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Omer Osman as a symbol of our esteem and respect.