HR1533 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1533 LRB099 24107 MST 51769 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Assistant House Republican Leader and State Representative Mike Tryon on his distinguished service to the 64th and 66th Legislative Districts and the people of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon has been a member of the Illinois House from 2005 to 2017 and served this body with honor and distinction; and

WHEREAS, The people of McHenry and Kane Counties have been very well-served by the leadership and bipartisanship of Representative Tryon during his six terms in the Illinois House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on July 30, 1955 to Floyd and Juanita Tryon and is one of three children who were taught the value of volunteerism and community service; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon graduated from North Vigo High School in 1973 and from Indiana State University in 1978 with a degree in environmental health science; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon moved to McHenry County after graduating from college to take a job with the McHenry County Health Department, and while working for the County, he not only fell in love with the area but also met his future wife, Cathy; they married in 1982; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon and Cathy reside in Crystal Lake and together they are the proud parents of three children, Jared, Lauren, and Lindsay, and are the doting grandparents of one beautiful granddaughter, Nora Jean; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon worked for the County Health Department until 1980, when he took a job as an environmental consultant for Clarke Community Mosquito Control in Roselle; he then bought and became a principal in a small business, Raber and Associates, an environmental consulting firm; in 1986, he formed McHenry Analytical, a water and wastewater testing lab; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon began his 28-year career as an elected official in 1989 with his election to the McHenry County Board, where he represented the people of Southeastern McHenry County; and

WHEREAS, On the McHenry County Board, Representative Tryon served as a leader of numerous committees, including Chair of the Finance, Public Health, and Personnel committees; he was unanimously selected by his colleagues on the county board in 1998 to serve as Chairman of the McHenry County Board, a position he held through 2004; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in November of 2004 and took his oath of office in January of 2005; and

WHEREAS, During his 12 years in the Illinois House of Representatives, Representative Tryon served in many positions of leadership, including as the Republican Spokesperson for the Environment, Energy, Small Business Empowerment and Workforce, Environmental Health, Mass Transit, and Juvenile Justice System-Involved Youth committees; he was an active member of dozens of other House committees and task forces including the influential House Executive Committee; and

WHEREAS, As one of his first legislative initiatives during his first term, Representative Tryon successfully rewrote portions of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law designed to close loopholes which saved Illinois taxpayers millions; and

WHEREAS, During his second term, Representative Tryon ushered in a new era of government transparency in Illinois by authoring legislation that created the Illinois Transparency Portal, a searchable database that allows Illinoisans to track how their tax dollars are being spent on salaries and State contracts; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon penned legislation that created one of the nation's first veterans court systems to address the non-violent offenses of veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other service-related issues; and

WHEREAS, In 2014, Representative Tryon was a primary negotiator of far-reaching reforms that improved transparency, accountability, and ethical behavior for those who serve on the Regional Transportation Authority and its service boards; and

WHEREAS, As Republican Spokesperson for the Environment Committee, Representative Tryon was respected on both sides of the aisle for his commitment to protecting the environment through bills that ensured a clean drinking water supply and the safe disposal of waste and surface discharge; he eased burdensome restrictions on businesses in ways that were not harmful to the environment while being beneficial to job creation; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon fought tirelessly to bring more than $300 million in State transportation improvement money to the 64th and 66th Legislative Districts, which led to the completion of critical and economy-boosting projects like the Algonquin bypass, the full interchange at Interstate 90 and Illinois Route 47, and the widening of Illinois Route 47 through Huntley; work is now underway for a Longmeadow Parkway bridge across the Fox River; and

WHEREAS, From 2010 to 2014, Representative Tryon served the House Republican Caucus as a member of the prestigious nonpartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA); and

WHEREAS, In an effort to promote bipartisanship and bring lawmakers together, Representative Tryon joined with Republican State Representative Chad Hays and Democrat Senator Don Harmon to form "The Boat Drink Caucus", a band that played regularly in Springfield and at the inauguration of Governor Bruce Rauner; and

WHEREAS, In 2016, Representative Tryon served his caucus as the Co-Chair of the bipartisan and bicameral Joint Commission on Administrative Rules (JCAR); and

WHEREAS, In 2011, as an advocate for diabetes awareness, Representative Tryon became a founding member of the Illinois Legislative Diabetes Caucus, the first legislative group of its kind and a model that has since been emulated in more than 14 other states; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon has always promoted honest dialogue on all points of view on legislative issues and has been a fierce advocate for balanced budgets and responsible spending; and

WHEREAS, In 2013, in recognition of his leadership, Representative Tryon was promoted to the role of Assistant Republican Leader for the House Republican Caucus under House Republican Leader Jim Durkin; and

WHEREAS, Over the last 12 years, Representative Tryon was the Chief Sponsor of 65 Public Acts, an additional 59 House Resolutions, and has served as a Chief-Co-Sponsor or Co-Sponsor of hundreds of other Public Acts and Resolutions; and

WHEREAS, Representative Tryon has been honored with a multitude of awards and recognitions during his time in the General Assembly including the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indiana State University College of Health and Performance, the 2006 Carl E. Wehde Award for Community Service from the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce, the 2007 Americans for Prosperity Sunshine Award for promotion of government transparency, the Champion of Free Enterprise Award from 2008-2016, the 2008 Friend of ITI Award from the Illinois Teen Institute, the 2013 Barbara King Environmental Stewardship Award, the 2014 Lifesaver of the Year Award from the Illinois Poison Center, the 2012 and 2016 Environmental Leadership Award from the Illinois Environmental Council, the 2015 Farmers Market Advocacy Award, and the 2016 Community Leader Award from Centegra Health Systems; he was recognized as the Legislator of the Year by the Association of Community Mental Health Authorities of Illinois in 2007, the Northern Illinois Alliance of Fire Protection Districts in 2009, the Staffing Services of Associates of Illinois in 2011, and the Illinois Public Transportation Association in 2014; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate State Representative Mike Tryon on making a positive difference in the lives of the people he represented in McHenry and Kane Counties and across Illinois, and we wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Representative Tryon, his wife, Cathy, and their family, as an expression of our esteem and respect for our colleague and friend.