HR1386 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1386 LRB097 23865 MST 73148 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate State Representative Harry "Randy" Ramey on his service and accomplishments in the General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey has been a resident of DuPage County for 35 years and Carol Stream for the last 23 years; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey's commitment to public service and politics began in the 1980's while serving in Youth in Government at York Community High School and as an election judge for York Township; he also was an active member of the Young Republicans and College Students for Ronald Reagan at the University of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey received his bachelor of science in restaurant management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1985; and

WHEREAS, Prior to his distinguished career in public service, Representative Ramey used his academic and managerial training to succeed in the food service industry; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey worked for the Illinois Secretary of State in the Department of Senior and Community Services as an Outreach Representative between the years of 1992 and 2005; and

WHEREAS, As a resident of Carol Stream, Representative Ramey served as a committeeman of the Wayne Township Republican Organization in 1993, vice-chairman in 2000, and chairman in 2004, 2010, and 2012; he was also elected to serve as the chairman of the DuPage County Republican Party in 2011; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey began his career in public service with his election in 1999 as trustee to Wayne Township; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey was first appointed to the 55th House District seat in 2005 when former State Representative John Millner was appointed to the 28th State Senate District; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey is known in the General Assembly as a proud fiscal conservative who has consistently opposed higher taxation, such as the 67% state income tax hike, and has opposed budgets that relied on borrowing and tax and fee increases; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey will be remembered for his outstanding record of support for Illinois teachers and his efforts to create a balanced budget, pro-growth business climate, and lower state taxes and fees; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey is especially proud of his leadership in negotiations between State and federal officials to move forward the Kerr-McGee clean-up of West Chicago, reforming the DuPage Water Commission, and successfully passing Rapid Repat out of the House of Representatives with bi-partisan support; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey fought against non-residents and non-citizens from receiving taxpayer based benefits; he also saved taxpayers millions of dollars by working with the Illinois Press Association to lower rates of mandated government postings; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey forged bi-partisan support on legislation he sponsored or co-sponsored in the House of Representatives including: tax credits to manufacturers to create jobs, expansion of safe haven locations to drop off newborn infants, the sunset of the DuPage Water Commission's 1/4 cent water sales tax, promotion of victims' rights by having defendants found not guilty of murder by insanity placed in facilities far from family members of the murder victim, making it harder for government to seize private property, creation of a statewide murder registry, reduction of property taxes for areas hit hard by foreclosures, preventing registered sex offenders from logging onto social networking sites, increasing benefits for war veterans, requiring income verification to qualify for the state's free health care programs, increasing eligibility for the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption, combating domestic abuse and abuse of the elderly, demanding convicted sexual predators to wear a GPS tracking device, and allowing citizens to recall corrupt public officials; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey was privileged to co-sponsor 2 resolutions commending the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey is a committed campaign volunteer to the Republican party with notable services in the election campaigns of Pate Phillip for Senate (1985-2004), George Bush for President (1988 & 1992), Bob Dole for President (1996), George W. Bush for President (2000), and as a delegate for Wayne Township at the Illinois Republican Convention (2000, 2004, 2008 & 2012); and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey proudly served as Master Mason and 3rd Degree of the Elmhurst Masonic Lodge; he is also a member of the Scottish Rite and Medinah Shrine Temple; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey proudly served as a volunteer for numerous civic organizations, including Wayne Township General Assistance, Northern Illinois Food Bank, and Heritage Lake School; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ramey has served with distinction as the Republican spokesperson for both the Counties & Townships committee and the State Government Administration committee; he has also served as a diligent committee member on the Appropriations-General Service committee, Consumer Protection committee, Telecommunications committee, Tourism & Conventions committee, Special License Plate, and the Local Government Administration Subcommittee; and

WHEREAS, State Representative Ramey is the proud father of 3 children, Alexandra, Christopher, and Zachary; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate our friend and colleague, Representative Randy Ramey, on his retirement from the Illinois House of Representatives and wish him the best in his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to State Representative Randy Ramey as a symbol of our respect and esteem.