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1		HOUSE RESOLUTION
2		WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3		Representatives wish to congratulate Representative Tom Cross
4		of Oswego on his distinguished service to the people of the
5		State of Illinois; and
6		WHEREAS, Representative Cross has been a member of the
7		Illinois House of Representatives since 1993 and has served
8		this body with honor and distinction; and
9		WHEREAS, Representative Cross was born on July 31, 1958 in
10		Nashville, Tennessee; he grew up in the West Pullman
11		neighborhood of Chicago before his family moved to Yorkville in
12		Kendall County, where he graduated with Yorkville High School's
13		Class of 1976; and
14		WHEREAS, Representative Cross earned a Bachelor of Arts in
15		Political Science from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1980 and
16		a Juris Doctor from Samford University's Cumberland School of
17		Law in 1983; and
18		WHEREAS, Representative Cross married the former Genie
19		Hovater in 1983, and through more than 31 years of marriage,
20		have celebrated the births of 2 children, daughter, Reynolds
21		and son, Hudson; and

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1		WHEREAS, Representative Cross was inspired to pursue a life
2		of public service by his father, the Rev. Thomas Cross, Jr. and
3		his mother, Ruth Cross, a public school teacher and principal;
4		and
5		WHEREAS, Representative Cross was admitted to the Illinois
6		Bar in 1983 and served as a prosecutor with the Kendall County
7		State's Attorney's Office from 1984 to 1992; and
8		WHEREAS, Representative Cross was first elected to the
9		Illinois House of Representatives in 1992, rising to Assistant
10		Republican Leader in 1999 before being elected by his caucus as
11		House Republican Leader in 2002, a position he served in until
12		September of 2013; and
13		WHEREAS, As a member of the General Assembly,
14		Representative Tom Cross was the sponsor of new laws that
15		cracked down on fraud and abuse of the State's pension system;
16		and
17		WHEREAS, As House Republican Leader, Representative Cross
18		fought for budgetary honesty; he was a leading voice within the
19		General Assembly in opposition to the pseudo-accounting
20		tactics and fund sweeps used to repeatedly violate the
21		constitutional requirement that the State balance its

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1		operating budget; and
2		WHEREAS, Representative Cross has been noted for his
3		leadership on key children's health and safety initiatives,
4		including enhanced research for juvenile diabetes, new
5		safeguards to protect youth football players from concussions,
6		and stronger reporting and monitoring requirements for child
7		sex offenders; and
8		WHEREAS, Representative Cross serves on the Board of
9		Directors of the Illinois Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes
10		Research Foundation; and
11		WHEREAS, Representative Cross is a partner with the firm of
12		Mahoney, Silverman, and Cross in Joliet; and
13		WHEREAS, Representative Cross has been honored by scores of
14		organizations over the years in recognition of his outstanding
15		service in the General Assembly, including the Illinois State's
16		Attorneys Association, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of
17		Police, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Farm
18		Bureau, and the Illinois Health Care Association, among many
19		others; therefore, be it
20		RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21		NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that

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1		we congratulate Representative Tom Cross on his outstanding
2		service as a member of the General Assembly and as House
3		Republican Leader from 2003 from 2013, and we wish him the best
4		in all his future endeavors; and be it further
5		RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
6		presented to Representative Cross and his family as an
7		expression of our esteem and respect for our colleague and
8		friend.