HR0441

LRB095 12224 GRL 36590 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives are pleased to congratulate James "Jay" 
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Reardon on his retirement as Fire Chief of the  Village of 
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Northbrook on May 3, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, James "Jay" Reardon has performed 40 years of 
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dedicated fire service; his fire service career began in 
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Evergreen Park; his career has taken him to Hoffman Estates, 
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Cary, Portage, Michigan, Collier County, Florida, and 
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Northbrook, where he has served as Fire Chief since June 1994; 
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he concurrently served a total of 28 years with the Air Force 
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Reserve, retiring in 2004 at the rank of Major;  and

 
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    WHEREAS, James "Jay" Reardon's service in the Village of 
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Northbrook includes numerous accomplishments; under his 
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command, Northbrook's fire department received an Insurance 
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Services Office Fire Department Class 2 Rating, making the fire 
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department one of the top twenty best rated fire departments in 
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Illinois; he secured grants to construct and equip a new 
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regional emergency dispatch center; he was integral in the 
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modernization and equipping of the fire department into a 
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recognized state of the art operation; and he developed a 
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highly competent and dedicated firefighting and professional 
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staff second to none; and

 
 


 






HR0441
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LRB095 12224 GRL 36590 r




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    WHEREAS, James "Jay" Reardon's personnel file in full of 
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thank you notes, letters of appreciation, certificates of 
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training, and correspondence from many grateful individuals, 
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including the Governor of the State of Illinois and the 
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President of the United States; he has touched the lives of 
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many citizens in the Village of Northbrook while serving as 
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fire chief; his endless enthusiasm and stellar work ethic have 
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inspired many who have had the pleasure of working with him; 
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and
 
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    WHEREAS, During his tenure with the Village of Northbrook, 
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James "Jay" Reardon has served as President of the Mutual Aid 
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Box Alarm System and President of the Illinois Fire Chiefs 
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Association; he was appointed to the 2000 Blue Ribbon Panel for 
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the Fire Service's Issues; he served on the Statewide Terrorism 
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Preparedness Task Force; he chaired the Legislative Committee 
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of the Northeast Illinois Public Safety Training Academy; in 
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2002 he was named "Illinois Fire Chief of the Year" and was 
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named Fire Chiefs Magazine's International Career Fire Chief of 
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the Year; in 2003 he was awarded the International Fire Chiefs 
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prestigious Presidents Leadership Award from championing 
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inter-state mutual aid initiatives; he has also tirelessly 
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served on countless regional, State, and national committees 
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and task forces for the betterment of the nation's fire 
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services; and

 
 


 






HR0441
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LRB095 12224 GRL 36590 r




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    WHEREAS, James "Jay" Reardon's background in Disaster 
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Planning, Incident Management, and Recovery Operations has 
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served him well as he led the mobilization and deployment of 
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mutual aid forces responding to Chicago's LaSalle Bank building 
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fire, Metra train crash, Utica tornado, and Hurricane Katrina 
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in Louisiana; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Upon his retirement, James "Jay" Reardon will 
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assume the duties as the Chief Executive Officer of the Mutual 
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Aid Box Alarm System, where he will direct Statewide fire, EMS, 
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and Special Operation team responses associated with large 
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scale events and Declarations of Disaster; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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congratulate James "Jay" Reardon on his retirement, thank him 
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for his service to the Village of Northbrook and the State of 
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Illinois, and wish him continued success and happiness in the 
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future; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to James "Jay" Reardon as a symbol of our esteem and 
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respect.