Full Text of SR2221 100th General Assembly
SR2221 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Senator Kwame Raoul was told he had big shoes to | 3 | | fill when he was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by | 4 | | then-Senator Barack Obama in 2004, but he proved quickly that | 5 | | he was not the "next" Barack Obama but rather the first Kwame | 6 | | Raoul; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Over the next decade and a half, Senator Raoul | 8 | | became a leader in the Senate, a trusted negotiator, someone | 9 | | willing to work across the aisle, and a fighter who never shied | 10 | | away from a difficult issue; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul was a tireless champion for the | 12 | | people of the 13th Senate District, addressing the issues they | 13 | | care about most, including criminal justice reform, stopping | 14 | | gun violence, workers' rights, and access to affordable health | 15 | | care; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul is the proud son of Haitian | 17 | | immigrants, Dr. Janin Raoul and Marie Therese Raoul, and he is | 18 | | a lifelong resident of the Hyde Park/Kenwood area; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul was greatly influenced by the work | 20 | | of his father, a community physician who believed in health | 21 | | care as a human right; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul pursued a law degree from | 2 | | Chicago-Kent College of Law and began his career as a | 3 | | prosecutor in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, where | 4 | | he advocated for victims of crime and for child protection; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul continued his public service as a | 6 | | labor and employment attorney for the City Colleges of Chicago; | 7 | | and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Upon arriving in Springfield, Senator Raoul | 9 | | quickly gained the confidence of Senate leadership to handle | 10 | | difficult negotiations, from workers' compensation reform and | 11 | | redistricting to one of the most contentious legislative issues | 12 | | in recent memory, comprehensive public employee pension | 13 | | reform; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul's experience as a prosecutor led him | 15 | | to continually advocate for criminal justice reform in the | 16 | | Senate, passing historic legislation to abolish the death | 17 | | penalty, introducing innocence legislation allowing | 18 | | vindication for the falsely accused, and sponsoring numerous | 19 | | diversion and second-chance programs for ex-offenders; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul has seen firsthand the impact gun | 21 | | violence has on communities, having close friends who lost |
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| 1 | | their children to gun violence and experiencing it on the | 2 | | street outside his home; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul therefore made fighting gun | 4 | | violence a priority during his time in the Senate, cracking | 5 | | down on repeat gun offenders, increasing treatment options for | 6 | | those impacted by the trauma of violence, and introducing | 7 | | legislation banning the use of bump stocks and trigger cranks; | 8 | | and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul saw the great need to improve | 10 | | police-community relations and passed landmark law enforcement | 11 | | reform, including standards for officer-worn body cameras to | 12 | | increase trust and transparency; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul was commended for his work for | 14 | | victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, passing the | 15 | | Sexual Assault Survivor's Bill of Rights and sponsoring a plan | 16 | | to shield victims of domestic violence from liability if they | 17 | | terminate their lease early to escape an abusive situation; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul dedicated himself to strengthening | 19 | | and protecting voters' rights, passing the Illinois Voting | 20 | | Rights Act to protect racial and language minorities and | 21 | | increase transparency and public participation in the | 22 | | redistricting process, and passing legislation to end |
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| 1 | | Illinois' participation in the flawed Interstate Voter | 2 | | Registration Crosscheck Program; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul distinguished himself as a skilled | 4 | | negotiator by leading the Senate's 2011 workers' compensation | 5 | | reforms, which have saved employers hundreds of millions of | 6 | | dollars; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul, who would always draw inspiration | 8 | | from his own life when bringing issues to the Senate floor, | 9 | | received perhaps his greatest test yet when he was diagnosed | 10 | | with prostate cancer; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul recognized that early detection and | 12 | | treatment were key to surviving the same disease that took the | 13 | | life of his father and grandfather, which only strengthened his | 14 | | determination to ensure everyone in Illinois has access to | 15 | | affordable, quality health insurance and to serve as a personal | 16 | | mentor to others who have been diagnosed; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul has been a member of the board of | 18 | | directors of International Child Care, a non-profit | 19 | | organization that operates Grace Children's Hospital in Port au | 20 | | Prince, Haiti, and has been involved in efforts to rebuild the | 21 | | hospital's inpatient building, which was destroyed in an | 22 | | earthquake in 2010; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul serves on the board of Legal Prep | 2 | | Charter Academies and was on the board of the Cook County Bar | 3 | | Association; he is a member of 100 Black Men and the Kappa | 4 | | Alpha Psi Fraternity; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul is the proud father of two children, | 6 | | Che and Mizan, and recently became engaged to the wonderful and | 7 | | brilliant Dr. Lisa Moore; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Senator Raoul is leaving the Senate to become | 9 | | Attorney General of Illinois, a position in which he will no | 10 | | doubt remain a champion for the people of Illinois and continue | 11 | | his life's work pursuing equality and justice; therefore, be it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 13 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Senator Kwame | 14 | | Raoul for his years of service to the people of Illinois and | 15 | | honor him with this resolution; and be it further
| 16 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 | | presented to Senator Raoul as a symbol of our gratitude and | 18 | | with our best wishes for all his future endeavors.
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