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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Tony Perry on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of winning the 2009 "Good Neighbor" Business of the | ||||||
| 5 | Year Award from Illinois State Representative Lisa Dugan; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, The "Good Neighbor" Business of the Year Award | ||||||
| 7 | highlights local businesses that exemplify community service | ||||||
| 8 | at its finest; the award is given to businesses that reach out | ||||||
| 9 | to provide additional benefits to the community, thus being | ||||||
| 10 | looked upon as a community partner and a good neighbor; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Tony Perry has been a resident of Kankakee since | ||||||
| 12 | 1959, when he moved from Chicago Heights to develop | ||||||
| 13 | subdivisions and shopping centers on Kankakee's East Side; his | ||||||
| 14 | business has evolved over the years and he has become one of | ||||||
| 15 | Kankakee County's most active developers and passionate | ||||||
| 16 | community supporters; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, In the 1980's, when Kankakee County faced severe | ||||||
| 18 | financial crisis with the closing of several major employers | ||||||
| 19 | during a national recession, Tony Perry became determined to | ||||||
| 20 | invest all of his energy into the rehabilitation of the | ||||||
| 21 | communities, which led to the creation of a not-for-profit | ||||||
| 22 | economic development organization, Area Jobs Development | ||||||
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| 1 | Association; the association ultimately helped create | ||||||
| 2 | thousands of jobs, secured tens of millions of dollars of | ||||||
| 3 | investment into the county, and was the impetus to the local | ||||||
| 4 | elected officials uniting on behalf of the entire county; he | ||||||
| 5 | also traveled throughout the nation and abroad looking for | ||||||
| 6 | commerce and industry to locate in the community and to spread | ||||||
| 7 | the word in the national real estate industry; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Tony Perry was the creator of Christmas in | ||||||
| 9 | April-Kankakee County, which started with 50 volunteers | ||||||
| 10 | rehabilitating 3 homes on one day in April; the project | ||||||
| 11 | ultimately rehabilitated over 500 homes, with participation by | ||||||
| 12 | a thousand volunteers, in later years; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Tony Perry was a co-founder of the Illinois | ||||||
| 14 | Ambassadors, an organization that led economic development | ||||||
| 15 | efforts in Illinois; he was also a past President of the | ||||||
| 16 | Kankakee Area Chamber of Commerce and a past President of the | ||||||
| 17 | Kankakee County Association of Realtors; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Tony Perry serves as counsel emeritus to Perry | ||||||
| 19 | Group, Ltd., a commercial real estate and development firm; he | ||||||
| 20 | is also a longtime Certified Commercial Investment Member and a | ||||||
| 21 | member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors; and
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| 22 | WHEREAS, In 2000, Tony Perry was honored for his community | ||||||
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| 1 | service through his induction into the State of Illinois | ||||||
| 2 | Department of Aging Hall of Fame; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, Tony Perry and his wife of 53 years, Ellie, live | ||||||
| 4 | in Bourbonnais; together, they have five children and five | ||||||
| 5 | grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| 6 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 7 | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 8 | congratulate Tony Perry on the occasion of winning the 2009 | ||||||
| 9 | "Good Neighbor" Business of the Year Award and wish him | ||||||
| 10 | continued success and happiness in the future; and be it | ||||||
| 11 | further
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| 12 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 13 | presented to Tony Perry as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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