| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Marc Laino on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of his retirement as Executive Director of the | ||||||
| 5 | Illinois Racing Board after 31 years of dedicated public | ||||||
| 6 | service; and
| ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Marc Laino has been a member of the Illinois | ||||||
| 8 | Racing Board since 1987, holding the positions of Deputy | ||||||
| 9 | Director, State Director of Mutuels, Board Investigator, and | ||||||
| 10 | most recently Executive Director; and
| ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Marc Laino was instrumental in moving the Board's | ||||||
| 12 | drug testing program to the University of Illinois at Chicago's | ||||||
| 13 | Animal Forensic Toxicology laboratory in 2004 to protect animal | ||||||
| 14 | health and uphold the integrity of the Board's equine drug | ||||||
| 15 | testing program; and
| ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Marc Laino represented the Illinois Racing Board | ||||||
| 17 | on legislation, House Bill 1918, which assisted Illinois | ||||||
| 18 | racetracks and horsemen by creating the Horse Racing Equity | ||||||
| 19 | Trust Fund and added a 3% tax on riverboats that grossed more | ||||||
| 20 | than $200 million in 2006; and
| ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, In 2008, Marc Laino amended the Board's medication | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | rules to include the testing of anabolic steroids in | ||||||
| 2 | racehorses, and simultaneously worked to get | ||||||
| 3 | out-of-competition testing approved; and
| ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Marc Laino represented the Illinois Racing Board | ||||||
| 5 | on legislation in 2008, House Bill 4758, which required 4 | ||||||
| 6 | Illinois casinos to pay 3% of their adjusted gross revenue to | ||||||
| 7 | the horse racing industry; and
| ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Marc Laino acted as the Board's representation on | ||||||
| 9 | legislation legalizing advanced deposit wagering in 2009; and
| ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Marc Laino has chaired the Association of Racing | ||||||
| 11 | Commissioners International Wagering Systems Security | ||||||
| 12 | Committee; in April of 2014, he was named the recipient of the | ||||||
| 13 | 2014 Len Foote Award by the Association of Racing Commissioners | ||||||
| 14 | International, the highest honor bestowed upon racing | ||||||
| 15 | commission executive directors in North America; therefore, be | ||||||
| 16 | it
| ||||||
| 17 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 18 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 19 | we congratulate and thank Marc Laino for his 31 years of | ||||||
| 20 | service on the Illinois Racing Board and we wish him all the | ||||||
| 21 | best in his much deserved retirement; and be it further
| ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to Marc Laino as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
| ||||||