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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Assistant House
4Republican Leader and State Representative Mike Tryon on his
5distinguished service to the 64th and 66th Legislative
6Districts and the people of Illinois; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon has been a member of the
8Illinois House from 2005 to 2017 and served this body with
9honor and distinction; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The people of McHenry and Kane Counties have been
11very well-served by the leadership and bipartisanship of
12Representative Tryon during his six terms in the Illinois House
13of Representatives; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon was born in Terre Haute,
15Indiana on July 30, 1955 to Floyd and Juanita Tryon and is one
16of three children who were taught the value of volunteerism and
17community service; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon graduated from North Vigo
19High School in 1973 and from Indiana State University in 1978
20with a degree in environmental health science; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon moved to McHenry County
2after graduating from college to take a job with the McHenry
3County Health Department, and while working for the County, he
4not only fell in love with the area but also met his future
5wife, Cathy; they married in 1982; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon and Cathy reside in Crystal
7Lake and together they are the proud parents of three children,
8Jared, Lauren, and Lindsay, and are the doting grandparents of
9one beautiful granddaughter, Nora Jean; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon worked for the County Health
11Department until 1980, when he took a job as an environmental
12consultant for Clarke Community Mosquito Control in Roselle; he
13then bought and became a principal in a small business, Raber
14and Associates, an environmental consulting firm; in 1986, he
15formed McHenry Analytical, a water and wastewater testing lab;
16and
 
17    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon began his 28-year career as
18an elected official in 1989 with his election to the McHenry
19County Board, where he represented the people of Southeastern
20McHenry County; and
 
21    WHEREAS, On the McHenry County Board, Representative Tryon
22served as a leader of numerous committees, including Chair of

 

 

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1the Finance, Public Health, and Personnel committees; he was
2unanimously selected by his colleagues on the county board in
31998 to serve as Chairman of the McHenry County Board, a
4position he held through 2004; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon was elected to the Illinois
6House of Representatives in November of 2004 and took his oath
7of office in January of 2005; and
 
8    WHEREAS, During his 12 years in the Illinois House of
9Representatives, Representative Tryon served in many positions
10of leadership, including as the Republican Spokesperson for the
11Environment, Energy, Small Business Empowerment and Workforce,
12Environmental Health, Mass Transit, and Juvenile Justice
13System-Involved Youth committees; he was an active member of
14dozens of other House committees and task forces including the
15influential House Executive Committee; and
 
16    WHEREAS, As one of his first legislative initiatives during
17his first term, Representative Tryon successfully rewrote
18portions of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law designed
19to close loopholes which saved Illinois taxpayers millions; and
 
20    WHEREAS, During his second term, Representative Tryon
21ushered in a new era of government transparency in Illinois by
22authoring legislation that created the Illinois Transparency

 

 

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1Portal, a searchable database that allows Illinoisans to track
2how their tax dollars are being spent on salaries and State
3contracts; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon penned legislation that
5created one of the nation's first veterans court systems to
6address the non-violent offenses of veterans suffering from
7Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other service-related
8issues; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 2014, Representative Tryon was a primary
10negotiator of far-reaching reforms that improved transparency,
11accountability, and ethical behavior for those who serve on the
12Regional Transportation Authority and its service boards; and
 
13    WHEREAS, As Republican Spokesperson for the Environment
14Committee, Representative Tryon was respected on both sides of
15the aisle for his commitment to protecting the environment
16through bills that ensured a clean drinking water supply and
17the safe disposal of waste and surface discharge; he eased
18burdensome restrictions on businesses in ways that were not
19harmful to the environment while being beneficial to job
20creation; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon fought tirelessly to bring
22more than $300 million in State transportation improvement

 

 

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1money to the 64th and 66th Legislative Districts, which led to
2the completion of critical and economy-boosting projects like
3the Algonquin bypass, the full interchange at Interstate 90 and
4Illinois Route 47, and the widening of Illinois Route 47
5through Huntley; work is now underway for a Longmeadow Parkway
6bridge across the Fox River; and
 
7    WHEREAS, From 2010 to 2014, Representative Tryon served the
8House Republican Caucus as a member of the prestigious
9nonpartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and
10Accountability (COGFA); and
 
11    WHEREAS, In an effort to promote bipartisanship and bring
12lawmakers together, Representative Tryon joined with
13Republican State Representative Chad Hays and Democrat Senator
14Don Harmon to form "The Boat Drink Caucus", a band that played
15regularly in Springfield and at the inauguration of Governor
16Bruce Rauner; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In 2016, Representative Tryon served his caucus as
18the Co-Chair of the bipartisan and bicameral Joint Commission
19on Administrative Rules (JCAR); and
 
20    WHEREAS, In 2011, as an advocate for diabetes awareness,
21Representative Tryon became a founding member of the Illinois
22Legislative Diabetes Caucus, the first legislative group of its

 

 

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1kind and a model that has since been emulated in more than 14
2other states; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon has always promoted honest
4dialogue on all points of view on legislative issues and has
5been a fierce advocate for balanced budgets and responsible
6spending; and
 
7    WHEREAS, In 2013, in recognition of his leadership,
8Representative Tryon was promoted to the role of Assistant
9Republican Leader for the House Republican Caucus under House
10Republican Leader Jim Durkin; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Over the last 12 years, Representative Tryon was
12the Chief Sponsor of 65 Public Acts, an additional 59 House
13Resolutions, and has served as a Chief-Co-Sponsor or Co-Sponsor
14of hundreds of other Public Acts and Resolutions; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Representative Tryon has been honored with a
16multitude of awards and recognitions during his time in the
17General Assembly including the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award
18from the Indiana State University College of Health and
19Performance, the 2006 Carl E. Wehde Award for Community Service
20from the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce, the 2007 Americans
21for Prosperity Sunshine Award for promotion of government
22transparency, the Champion of Free Enterprise Award from

 

 

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12008-2016, the 2008 Friend of ITI Award from the Illinois Teen
2Institute, the 2013 Barbara King Environmental Stewardship
3Award, the 2014 Lifesaver of the Year Award from the Illinois
4Poison Center, the 2012 and 2016 Environmental Leadership Award
5from the Illinois Environmental Council, the 2015 Farmers
6Market Advocacy Award, and the 2016 Community Leader Award from
7Centegra Health Systems; he was recognized as the Legislator of
8the Year by the Association of Community Mental Health
9Authorities of Illinois in 2007, the Northern Illinois Alliance
10of Fire Protection Districts in 2009, the Staffing Services of
11Associates of Illinois in 2011, and the Illinois Public
12Transportation Association in 2014; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
15congratulate State Representative Mike Tryon on making a
16positive difference in the lives of the people he represented
17in McHenry and Kane Counties and across Illinois, and we wish
18him the best in all his future endeavors; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to Representative Tryon, his wife, Cathy, and their
21family, as an expression of our esteem and respect for our
22colleague and friend.