HR0965 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0965 LRB096 21321 GRL 37343 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to honor Lisa Parker for her commitment to excellence in broadcasting and for her service to the Chicagoland community in the provision of cogent and balanced analysis of consumer and public policy issues; and

WHEREAS, Lisa Parker, a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, has had a distinguished and award winning career in broadcasting; she was the initiator of NBC5's Target 5 consumer-investigative unit, which investigates both local and national consumer issues; and

WHEREAS, Lisa Parker and her team were the first to bring to the public's attention the existence of Section 41 of the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act; Section 41 effectively shielded the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) from paying the claims of accident victims if the accident victim failed to fully comply with the written notice requirements set forth in the Section; an accident victim's failure to comply with the Section's notice requirements resulted in the dismissal of any civil action against the CTA and forever barred the person from filing a lawsuit based on that incident; and

WHEREAS, Lisa Parker's investigative work also brought to the public the plight of Merle Huckabee, a Hazel Crest housewife whose life had been tragically altered on the basis of a serious injury caused by a CTA bus and whose legitimate injury claim was dismissed based upon Section 41; and

WHEREAS, The vigilance of Lisa Parker and resolve of Mrs. Huckabee helped lead to the eventual enactment of landmark legislation by the Illinois General Assembly that eliminated the notice requirements of Section 41 of the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act, allowing legitimate claimants to have their day in court to seek possible injury compensation; and

WHEREAS, Lisa Parker should be commended for all of the work that she has done advocating on behalf of consumers, for providing vital information to the public on important topical information, and for conducting her work with high ethical standards; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we honor Lisa Parker for her service to the public and her commitment to excellence in broadcasting, and wish her continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Lisa Parker as a symbol of our esteem and respect.