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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate David F. Vite on
4his retirement as President and Chief Executive Officer of the
5Illinois Retail Merchants Association; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Illinois Retail Merchants Association is the
7statewide professional organization for retailing and a voice
8of the business community in State government, representing
9more than 23,000 stores of all sizes and merchandise lines
10across Illinois; and
 
11    WHEREAS, David Vite joined the Illinois Retail Merchants
12Association in 1978 as a Field Representative; during his
13career with the Association, he held the positions of Manager
14Member Relations, Vice President Government Affairs, and
15Executive Vice President, becoming President in May 1985; and
 
16    WHEREAS, As the Illinois Retail Merchants Association's
17chief lobbyist, David Vite directed all legislative and
18governmental affairs activities and served as liaison for
19members of the Association with elected officials and
20administrative, department, and agency representatives; he was
21named "Best Business Lobbyist" by Crain's Chicago Business; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, David Vite served as a member of the Employment
2Security Advisory Board for more than 20 years under 5 Illinois
3governors; he served on the Workers' Compensation Advisory
4Board and on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of
5the National Retail Federation for 2 years; he chaired the
6National Association of State Retail Association Executives
7for one term, and served as the Speaker of the Illinois Third
8House in 2002; and
 
9    WHEREAS, David Vite has taken part in negotiations on some
10of the most historic issues facing the State of Illinois; in
111988, he and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association helped
12reform Illinois tax laws and, in 1997, he was chosen by the
13Legislative Caucus Chairs to facilitate discussions on
14electric deregulation, one of the State's most comprehensive
15pieces of legislation in decades; and
 
16    WHEREAS, David Vite has devoted much of his life to serving
17the public interest; he served on the school board of St.
18Mary's Elementary School in Woodstock for 5 years and as
19Chairman for 2 years; he spent 8 years on the Memorial Hospital
20of McHenry County Board of Directors from 1989-1997, holding
21the position of Board Chairman for 3 years; he also served on
22the Centegra Health System Board of Directors for 2 years; and
 
23    WHEREAS, David Vite is a United States Army veteran and a

 

 

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1graduate of the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse; he and his
2wife, Jane, have 2 daughters, Amanda (husband Chris) and
3Gretchen (husband Aaron) and one granddaughter, Vivian, the
4apple of his eye; therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we congratulate David F. Vite on his retirement as President
8and Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Retail Merchants
9Association and wish him the best in all his future endeavours;
10and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12presented to David Vite as an expression of our esteem and
13respect.