Bill Text: IL HR1042 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Recognizes the life of Tom Vanderpoel.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 46-11)
Status: (Passed) 2018-05-09 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Michael J. Zalewski [HR1042 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HR1042-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to honor and celebrate
the life of Thomas | ||||||
4 | "Tom" Waid Vanderpoel; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel was born on February 10, 1951 to | ||||||
6 | Waid and Ruth
Vanderpoel; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Graduating from Barrington High School in 1969, | ||||||
8 | Tom Vanderpoel and his four brothers
developed an appreciation | ||||||
9 | for wildlife and conservation thanks to their parents; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Following high school, Tom Vanderpoel went on to | ||||||
11 | study wildlife biology at the
University of Wyoming; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Returning to the Barrington area after his | ||||||
13 | studies, Tom Vanderpoel followed in his
father's footsteps and | ||||||
14 | became actively involved in the Citizens for Conservation, | ||||||
15 | ultimately
taking on the role of Director of Restoration; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel became widely recognized for the | ||||||
17 | many native restoration efforts he
led in the Barrington area, | ||||||
18 | part of a vision to create a series of high-quality habitats | ||||||
19 | and pathways
to connect preserves throughout the area to allow | ||||||
20 | wildlife to flourish; and
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1 | WHEREAS, The countless hours Tom Vanderpoel spent planning | ||||||
2 | future restoration tasks,
encouraging volunteers, and doing | ||||||
3 | the hard physical labor of digging, burning, and picking is | ||||||
4 | seen
today in the transformation of the formerly fallow, weed | ||||||
5 | filled fields at Grigsby Prairie and Flint
Creek Savanna that | ||||||
6 | now thrive with seas of native grasses; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel's spearheading of local | ||||||
8 | initiatives has restored and preserved more than
3,500 acres of | ||||||
9 | natural habitat in the Barrington area; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Although he never sought leadership positions, | ||||||
11 | Tom Vanderpoel's abilities were
constantly sought by leading | ||||||
12 | ecologists, leading to his participation in many more | ||||||
13 | restoration
efforts throughout Illinois and Wisconsin; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Despite the many overtures for his services, | ||||||
15 | including by the Nature Conservancy,
which is a leading | ||||||
16 | international conservation organization, Tom Vanderpoel | ||||||
17 | remained passionately
focused on local conservation projects | ||||||
18 | and education; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel's contribution is not only seen in | ||||||
20 | restoration projects, he shared his
expertise freely and kindly | ||||||
21 | to both educate and inspire young and old alike; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel shared this knowledge and worked | ||||||
2 | collaboratively with the Nature
Conservancy's Volunteer | ||||||
3 | Stewardship Network, the Bobolink Foundation, Audubon Great
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4 | Lakes, the Lake County Forest Preserve, the Forest Preserve | ||||||
5 | District of Cook County, and
member organizations of Chicago | ||||||
6 | Wilderness; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Although Tom Vanderpoel never pursued personal | ||||||
8 | accolades or recognition, he received
numerous awards for both | ||||||
9 | his volunteerism and his restoration work, notably being named | ||||||
10 | the
2009 Citizen of the Year by the Barrington Area Development | ||||||
11 | Council and receiving the
inaugural Excellence in Conservation | ||||||
12 | Award from Chicago Wilderness in 2004, an honor he
cherished; | ||||||
13 | and
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14 | WHEREAS, Those who knew and volunteered and worked | ||||||
15 | alongside Tom Vanderpoel saw his passion
and willingness to | ||||||
16 | teach others as an inspiration to all, thus he was called a | ||||||
17 | "conservation
luminary" by a colleague for his lasting | ||||||
18 | contribution to his community; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel passed away unexpectedly on August | ||||||
20 | 8, 2017 at the age of 66, but his
work has left a lasting | ||||||
21 | impression for decades to come; therefore, be it
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1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
2 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
3 | honor and celebrate the life
of Tom Vanderpoel for his many | ||||||
4 | years of dedicated service to his community, the Citizens for
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5 | Conservation, and natural restoration; and be it further
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6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
7 | presented to the family of Tom
Vanderpoel as an expression of | ||||||
8 | our esteem and respect.
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