HR0275 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0275 LRB095 11802 KXB 34810 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Wendy Abrams on receiving the Environmental Leadership Award from the Illinois League of Conservation Voters; and

WHEREAS, She and her husband, James, generously contributed to the University of Michigan to establish the Abrams Scholarship Fund, which gives support to undergraduates who pursue internships in environmental field work; and

WHEREAS, Wendy Abrams was the innovator of and driving force behind the Cool Globes exhibit, which will be on display this summer along the lake front and at the Field Museum in Chicago; the Cool Globes exhibit will be a string of 5-foot diameter globes, each artistically unique and expressing the concerns and effects of global warming; she had the initial idea and has garnered the sponsorship of Exelon, Pepsi, McDonald's, and Toyota; and

WHEREAS, Wendy Abrams set up the Cool Globes website, which gives users not only a description of the exhibit and information on its location and opening date, but also collects pledges for lowering global warming; it gives weekly tips on how to become more climate-control friendly everyday in your home, and it also gives a sneak peek to some of the globes; and

WHEREAS, She has garnered national attention for the Cool Globes exhibit by having high profile personalities participate and put out a globe of their own, with former President Bill Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jodie Foster each taking a part in the Cool Globes exhibit; and

WHEREAS, Wendy Abrams is the chief operating officer of Medline Industries; she currently serves on the National Council of Environmental Defense, the National Advisory Board for the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Illinois Steering Committee for the Sierra Club; Wendy graduated from Brown University and received her MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management; she is an advisor to Shift, a multi-media company that focuses on expanding the environmental movement in a "pop culture lens"; and

WHEREAS, Wendy Abrams has lobbied State and national government to support environmentalism from a business owner's point of view; one of her goals is to redefine coal-powered electricity from being the main problem to being a solution for climate change, and she believes it is good public policy to avoid building new plants that are immediately obsolete; she is currently meeting with health care companies to try to build a coalition that will make clean energy purchases; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Wendy Abrams for her hard work and dedication to making our world a better place to live and on receiving the Environmental Leadership Award from the Illinois League of Conservation Voters; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Wendy Abrams as a symbol of our respect.