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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to recognize Jan Smith for her
4achievements as an environmental activist; and
 
5    WHEREAS, She has demonstrated her dedication, passion, and
6volunteerism to protecting the planet and sharing her love of
7Mother Earth with others; and
 
8    WHEREAS, She and her husband have lived in the same house
9near Armstrong Park in Carol Stream since they moved there in
101963; her garden is filled with flowers and vegetables, and
11fertilized with homemade compost from leaves and grass
12clippings; she also has 2 earthworm farms that she feeds with
13food scraps; and
 
14    WHEREAS, She spent 15 years as a part-time seasonal
15gardener for the park district, during which time she became
16known for her love of native prairie plants; the Carol Stream
17Park District dedicated a park in her honor; she is involved
18with the DuPage Organic Garden Club, which she founded 41 years
19ago on Earth Day, and serves on the board of the Greater DuPage
20Chapter of the Wild Ones, a nonprofit group dedicated to
21natural landscaping; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Before the community had convenient recycling
2bins, she and other members of the Carol Stream Woman's Club
3started a modest recycling drop-off spot in 1970; she, along
4with others, transported glass they collected all the way to
5the nearest recycling facility in Plainfield; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In 2009, she brought a federal grant opportunity
7to the attention of local officials that resulted in the
8village getting $173,000 for energy-saving projects, including
9upgrades to the water treatment plant and installation of 10
10LED streetlights; and
 
11    WHEREAS, When the Carol Stream Park District first
12considered building a new recreation center, she led a petition
13effort requesting officials to pursue LEED certification for
14energy-efficient design and the park board agreed; today, she
15heads a local chapter of the Cool Cities Coalition, a
16nationwide outgrowth of the Sierra Club that seeks local
17solutions to global warming by partnering with government
18officials, businesses, and community groups; and
 
19    WHEREAS, She, along with the local Cool Cities chapter,
20encouraged the village of Carol Stream to partner with the
21Citizens Utility Board and its Energy Saver program to allow
22residents to track home electricity savings online; as a
23result, the Citizens Utility Board gave the village 500 compact

 

 

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1fluorescent light bulbs to give to residents; and
 
2    WHEREAS, When she has an issue in mind, she goes all out in
3a civil and polite way; she is always kind in her approach and
4she is persistent; what distinguishes her from other activists
5is she is able to create strong and personal relationships with
6local officials; therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
9we honor Jan Smith for her dedication to the environment and
10environmental issues and wish her the best in all her future
11endeavors; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13presented to Jan Smith as a symbol of our respect and esteem.