Full Text of HR0477 96th General Assembly
HR0477 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate Joseph C. Szabo on | 4 |
| the occasion of being selected to serve as Federal Railroad | 5 |
| Administrator by President Barack Obama; and
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| WHEREAS, Joseph Szabo is a fifth-generation railroader | 7 |
| whose ancestors worked for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, | 8 |
| Wabash, and Illinois Central (IC) Railroads; while still in | 9 |
| high school, he assisted his father, a 40-year IC switchman and | 10 |
| 14-year union officer, with his bookkeeping work as | 11 |
| secretary/treasurer of UTU Local 1299; he was hired to work for | 12 |
| the Illinois Central in 1976, where he was employed as a yard | 13 |
| switchman, road trainman, and commuter passenger conductor; he | 14 |
| became an employee of Metra when IC sold its Commuter Division | 15 |
| in 1987; and
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| WHEREAS, By 1984, Joseph Szabo was following in his | 17 |
| father's footsteps, winning the election to serve as | 18 |
| secretary/treasurer of UTU Local 1290; he later progressed to | 19 |
| become Local 1290's Delegate and Legislative Representative, | 20 |
| eventually winning the election to serve as Vice Chairman of | 21 |
| the UTU Illinois Legislative Board in 1991; in February of | 22 |
| 1996, he was elected to serve as State Director of the UTU | 23 |
| Illinois Legislative Board; since then, he has been re-elected |
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| by acclamation three times in 2000, 2004, and 2008; in October | 2 |
| of 2006, he was appointed to the position of vice president of | 3 |
| the Illinois AFL-CIO and, in October 2008, was elected to a | 4 |
| full four-year term; and
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| WHEREAS, Joseph Szabo was also active in local government | 6 |
| in the Chicago suburb of Riverdale for more than twenty years, | 7 |
| eventually serving as mayor; and
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| WHEREAS, Joseph Szabo served as a member of the South | 9 |
| Suburban Mayors Transportation Committee and Vice Chairman of | 10 |
| the Chicago Area Transportation Study's Executive Committee; | 11 |
| following the 2002 gubernatorial election, he co-chaired the | 12 |
| Freight Rail Sub-Committee of Governor Rod Blagojevich's | 13 |
| Transition Team; since 2005, he has been assigned by the UTU | 14 |
| International to the Federal Railroad Administration's Rail | 15 |
| Safety Advisory Committee, where he participates in the | 16 |
| drafting of rail-safety regulations; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, Joseph Szabo has served in a variety of positions | 18 |
| to help decision makers in State government shape a | 19 |
| transportation and economic development vision for Illinois; | 20 |
| he held an advisory position on the State of Illinois Growth | 21 |
| Task Force and previously served on the Executive Council of | 22 |
| Metropolis 2020; he is also a former member of Business Leaders | 23 |
| for Transportation and the legislative advisory committee for |
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| the Metropolitan Planning Council; and
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| WHEREAS, Joseph Szabo earned his bachelor's degree in labor | 3 |
| relations from Governors State University in 1990; and
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| WHEREAS, Joseph Szabo served as the Alternate National | 5 |
| Legislative Director of the UTU's National Legislative Office | 6 |
| in Washington from January 15, 2009 until his resignation on | 7 |
| May 4, 2009; on May 5, 2009, he was sworn in to serve as the | 8 |
| Federal Railroad Administrator; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, Joseph Szabo serves as a model of hard work, | 10 |
| integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | 11 |
| Illinois; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 13 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 14 |
| congratulate Joseph C. Szabo on the occasion of being selected | 15 |
| to serve as Federal Railroad Administrator and wish him | 16 |
| continued success and happiness in the future; and be it | 17 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 |
| presented to Joseph Szabo as a symbol of our esteem and | 20 |
| respect.
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