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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate our colleague, State
4Representative Keith Sommer, on the occasion of his retirement
5from the General Assembly after 24 years of service; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Rep. Sommer joined the House of Representatives
7in January 1999, but his service to the people of his district
8stretches back almost half a century; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Before he came to Springfield, Rep. Sommer served
10on the Tazewell County Board and the Morton Village Board; he
11also served as the recorder of Tazewell County and chaired his
12local regional planning commission; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Rep. Sommer was a tireless advocate for adoptive
14families in Illinois, passing a historic adoption reform bill
15in 2015 that eased the process of international adoptions for
16Illinois families; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Rep. Sommer opened educational opportunities for
18dyslexic children in Illinois through legislation that created
19a guide for school personnel to identify signs of dyslexia and
20to help them improve their dyslexic students' academic
21performance; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Rep. Sommer aligned his legislative record with
2his style as an elected official; when someone came to him for
3help, he listened and then developed a way to assist them, not
4stopping until the solution became a reality; despite the
5bills he championed not always representing high profile
6issues with headline-grabbing attention, he worked diligently
7to pass them as he understood their importance to the families
8they directly impacted; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Rep. Sommer has also left an indelible mark on
10the State of Illinois through successful designation of the
11pumpkin pie as our state pie, which honors his hometown of
12Morton, the pumpkin capital of the world; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Rep. Sommer spent almost a quarter of a century
14in service to the people of Illinois as an advocate for lower
15taxes, local control, Second Amendment rights, and small
16businesses; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Rep. Sommer will leave the General Assembly for a
18much-deserved retirement; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
20HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21we thank Representative Keith Sommer for his many years of

 

 

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1service to the people of his district and the State of
2Illinois; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That we wish him, his wife, Deb, and their two
4daughters all the best in the years to come; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6presented to Rep. Sommer as an expression of our esteem and
7respect.